Changing History
by Insane Pineapple from Naboo
Summary: What if Yoda and Obi Wan were desperate for any help the force could offer? What if that help came from the future? How would it effect the course of the Star Wars history?
1. Prologue

**Forward from the author**: I decided to rewrite this story because I like my original idea, but I feel went about presenting it the wrong way. I had practically no transitions, and I can now understand why some of my readers had trouble following the plotline. This being said, I'll welcome any criticism to the reconstructed version of Changing History. I will also no longer be switching POV's constantly. There are other ways each individual character can contribute to the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. Never have, never will.

Changing History: Prologue

Coruscant is known as the planet of city life. Bars fill with empty music and disillusioned business leaders line the streets with their false promises and inevitable heartbreaks. Breaks in traffic flows causes the deaths of five people per second, and air vents invite the stench of tragic thrill rides to lonely street teenagers who have nothing left to give in their lives.

Coruscant is also a place of corruption in the government. The Sith Lord Darth Sidious rules under the name Chancellor Palpatine, and the Jedi Council hurries to find the source of the dark side. Palpatine has been given emergency powers from the Senate, and the Clone War has begun. Darkness clouds every vision, every dream, and Yoda listens passively as the Council decides their own fate.

"We must act immediately. The power of the dark side is growing, and it will consume us if we do nothing, Hadar," Mace Windu replied. He could feel a headache clawing at his brain, but he would not concede his point.

"Impatience is a trait of the dark path, and I do not believe we should fall to the corruption so easily, Master Windu. We must put our faith in the Force to guide us," Hadar Leef shot back. He often disagreed with Mace Windu's ways, and he never failed to share his own views on the matter. Hadar was a stocky man, built only for battle. His influence on the other members of the Council was limited, but his few allies stood behind him when they could.

Obi Wan Kenobi stepped between the two men as he faced each one individually. Both shared good points, but this argument would get them nowhere. If they were to reach a conclusion, the Jedi Council had to work in a cooperative manner. The argument had already lasted for half the day, and if they fought for much longer, the Council would reflect the ways of the Senate in using too much time doing nothing.

"We must proceed with caution, Master Windu. The force is our ally, but it could also be used against us, Master Leef," Obi Wan commented neutrally to cease the impending holoball match between the two Jedi masters.

"Agreed, Obi-Wan. Meditate on this matter, I will. Help, I will call for. Master Kenobi, I wish to speak with you," Yoda voice carried over all the members present. The Jedi bowed their heads in respect as they quietly filed out of the room. Windu and Leef noticeably shuffled as far away from each other as possible.

Obi Wan and Yoda stared at each other for a few moments as no words were needed. The sun was setting low on the horizon, and the shafts of light cast an eerie glow about the room. Light was fading fast, and they were running out of time.

"Where is Young Skywalker?" Yoda asked as his floating platform rose to match Obi Wan's height. Old age was catching up to him, but he would not let death come for him yet. He had not lived for so long to see the Republic slide into chaos.

"Anakin is on his way back from escorting Senator Amidala to Naboo. I believe she is returning with him on the request of the new queen," Obi Wan replied as he placed his hands behind his back. The doors opened as he began down the corridor with Yoda in his wake. Anakin would be back before long, and Obi-Wan intended on sending his apprentice a message as soon as possible.

"Darkness, I sense in him," Yoda said in a tired manner. Obi Wan looked at him in surprise. "Taken him completely, it has not." How could they hope to win a war if they could not fight the battles within their own ranks?

"I have failed then, Master Yoda. My first Padawan has joined that which we fight against," Obi Wan murmured as he bowed his head in defeat. Anakin was like his son, and he had failed to keep Qui-Gon's promise. Anakin might not become the Jedi Knight he was born to be after all.

Yoda shook his head. "There is still hope. An anchor, I will need as I journey on the Force in search of someone who can save the Chosen One. Redeemed, Skywalker can be."

Obi Wan could not erase the small spark that alighted in his mind. He had not failed completely, and he would do everything in his power to lead Anakin back from the darkness he had created. The doors opened before them, and the meditation chamber beckoned the Jedi masters inside. Yoda's platform floated to the center of the room, and Yoda gestured to one of the cushions on the left. Obi Wan shrugged off his heavy cloak before finding a comfortable position. No, he would not fail Anakin like he failed his master.

"Clear your mind and find my Force signature, you must," Yoda lulled as he closed his eyes. Light filled his second sight, and the flow of the force surrounded him. He could feel Obi Wan searching, and Yoda reached out with his mind toward one of his closest trustees. Yoda's assurance landed him a strong anchor, and he prepared himself for the journey.

Jedi were always taught to never give themselves completely to the Force in this manner because minds had been shattered, lost to the world. There was always a risk, but was the risk worth taking? Yoda let his body go as the Force guided him toward an unknown destination. Touches of shadow reached him, but the Jedi Master brushed them off with ease.

Yoda was going forward in time, but time was immeasurable to the Force. All he could feel was the light and the dark. No longer was the scale tipped in the side of the shadows, and he could feel two strong Force beings surrounded in light. The medichlorians themselves converged in the Force, and everything was in balance. Yoda nearly wept in joy, but he had a mission to fulfill.

He wasn't strong enough to bring back thousands of medichlorians by himself, but he could ask for their aid. A suggestion here, a plea for help there, and he was on his way home. The outcome of his call was no longer in his hands, and they only had to wait to see if their call would be answered. Yoda could here Obi Wan sigh in relief as he opened hi eyes.

Darkness would get its battle.

Twenty-five years in the future, Luke Skywalker had a premonition. He rarely had visions, and even rarer did he know what they meant. His former masters needed help, but in his vision, they both looked alive and well. Masters Obi-Wan and Yoda were in a building unknown to him, and they looked battle-worn to the point of exhaustion.

Luke folded the blanket back and tread softly to the balcony outside his bedroom. He didn't have many possessions, no clothes to trip over. His room was bare, but he felt emptier inside. The Force was trying to tell him something, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. He leaned on the balcony rail, his cloak trailing behind him.

Leia approached from the left, her soft breath mingling with chilled night air. She rested her hand on the back of her brother's cloak, and he leaned into her touch. "You felt it too," he whispered on the wind. It was a statement more than a question, and she didn't need to respond. The sands of Tatooine blew in from the South, but they didn't notice the coarse grains tapping their bare skin.

"What should we do, Luke?" she asked as though she didn't already know the answer. They both knew he would rush headlong into the situation, and his friends were sure to follow. Leia could feel Han stirring in one of the far rooms of the house, but Chewie was still long asleep on a makeshift couch. Three months after the fall of the Empire, and they still didn't know why they were on Tatooine. The desert was a refuge, a temporary sanctuary, but it wasn't home.

Luke sighed as he turned to face his sister. "I won't try to stop you if you want to come with me, but I don't know if we're ever coming back here. Danger is ahead along with both life and death. Master Yoda needs my help, and after all I put him through, I will give him the help he asks for."

Luke didn't need to see the resolve in Leia's eyes to know she would follow him to whatever end. There was no Rebellion and no Empire to keep her from her duty to her family this time. He walked past Han's sleepy form to grab his lightsaber from his bedside table. His lightsaber had not failed to keep him alive thus far, and he would do his father proud.

Han grumbled behind Luke as he wrapped his arms around his princess. "What mess am I going to have to get the kid out of this time?" He asked as he shook Chewbacca lightly. Chewie growled slightly and yawned at the smuggler as he fell off the couch. Groans of "Oh no!" could be heard from the kitchen as Artoo pushed Threepio forward.

Luke smiled slightly as he grasped Chewie's arm and Artoo's dome. Leia did the same with Han and Threepio to his right. "Not that I'm complaining, Princess, but what are you doing? Don't tell me Luke has you doing this Force mumbo jumbo again," Han complained, but his words fell on deaf ears. Chewie silenced him with a look.

Luke felt Leia's Force signature and grasped onto it tightly. He could hear Han and Chewie's banter, but he was too focused to argue with them. His father prodded him gently in the right direction, and he sent a wave of gratitude. The world of the Force was different in this stage of limbo as his mental self tried to separate from his physical form. Luke was going both toward and away from the two Jedi Masters he knew, and he could sense familiar presences everywhere. Leia 'pushed' him forward, and he kept his physical forms tightly with him.

He didn't know if a droid could travel on the force, but Artoo's being had a strand of humanity in him unlike the clones. It was enough, and Luke grabbed onto it. He held Chewie to the other side of him, and Leia followed closely behind with Han and Threepio. A familiar presence alerted him to Yoda, and he reached forward blindly. He grabbed for the light and fell ungracefully in a heap at the bottom of the dogpile.

Yoda hid his disappointment well in the next Jedi Council. Three days had passed, and his call had yet been returned from the medichlorians. He knew help returning to their aid was slim, but hope was still hope as long as he had it to hold onto. Obi Wan was struggling not to express similar knowledge, but he was holding steady with a look from Yoda.

Mace Windu and Hadar Leef decided to hold their tongues for the day as other members expressed their concerns. Yoda closed his eyes in a meditative trance to block out their faults and questions. The Force filled him, and his structure shook for a moment. He ignored the look of brief worry Mace offered as he watched the older Jedi.

One of the medichlorians he had sought out before was looking for him. The other presence followed close behind, and Yoda sighed as he felt others with them. Would they help to bring balance to the Force? Would they restore the peace and order as it was before? Yoda could only gasp as the light reached out to him, and he lent them his hand.

His concentration was shattered as six forms were thrown unceremoniously on the floor in the middle of the Jedi Council. Obi Wan had barely stepped out of the way in time to miss the random limbs thrown together. The Jedi Council had stopped throwing ideas around at each other and were watching the new entourage the force had given them.

"Kid! What did you do-"

"Arg!"

"Oh my circuits-"

"Beep!"

"Get off me, you hairball-"

"Stop!"

Luke's last yell caused the room to go silent, but he gulped as all eyes swiveled to him. He attempted to bow his head to Yoda, but Chewie's arm prevented much movement. Han and Leia attempted to sort themselves out as Chewie drew up to his full height. Luke glared briefly at Threepio as the gold droid mumbled to Artoo. He turned back to Obi Wan and Yoda.

"You called for aid, Master Yoda?"

Notes: If any of you are having a hard time following this or if I'm going too fast, make sure to speak up. I'll be deleting all the other chapters today and rewriting them at different points in time, so I'm sorry there's no comparison for you guys. Ja ne Insane Pineapple from Naboo


	2. Chapter 1: Family Feud

**Forward: **A few people wanted to read the original version of this story, but I'd like to say one thing beforehand. The original version of this story is probably one of the worst fanfictions I have ever written. I think some people liked the plotline itself, but the way I wrote Changing History was horrible. With this having been said, if you still want to read the original version, leave your email, and I'll send it to you.

Changing History: Family Feud

Anakin Skywalker landed the flyer with perfect grace on the platform. He stared at the consol in front of him as the flashes and beeps died down. His secret marriage to Padmé was burning in his mind as fresh as the double sunrise on Tatooine. Anakin's metal arm had soon been replaced with a prosthetic one, but both false arms reminded him of his failure. He wasn't as powerful as he should be.

A trickle in the Force burned in the back of his mind, and he looked toward the Jedi Temple. A familiar yet unknown presence lurked in it's midst, and Anakin had yet to understand what side of the Force this new presence was of. He frowned as he undid his restraints and opened the hatch. Senator Organa greeted him by way of his wife. "I hope your flight was uneventful, Padawan Skywalker," Bail said in a practiced voice.

"As uneventful as always, Senator," Anakin smoothly replied. His dealings with Organa were limited, and his encounters were short and to the point. Bail nodded to himself, as this was the answer he always received. The only underlying question he could've asked was how many people were killed in an assassination attempt this time around. "Is there anything else you wish to inform me, Senator Organa?" Anakin asked the dark-haired man.

"My apologies, Padawan Skywalker. The counsel wishes for your attendance as soon as possible. I believe they have been in session for quite some time now," Bail said as he stopped before the elevator. The doors opened, and they stepped inside slowly. Anakin kept himself from glaring at the numbers as Bail pushed the number for level ten. Had the counsel found out about his marriage to Padmé so soon?

"Did the counsel say what this meeting was being held for?" Anakin struggled to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Did his master suspect something? Did Obi-Wan turn Anakin into the counsel? Nervousness wracked through his body, and he sternly reminded himself that he was a Jedi. He would face the consequences of his actions with his head held high. The elevator doors slid open to Level 10.

"I'm afraid they did not. However, they indicated that the matter was of utmost importance. I do not believe they hold any ill-intent toward you," Bail said as he walked toward his dark blue speeder. He was already late to the Senate, and his faithful assistant was keeping notes for him. The Senate was slowly being driven into darkness, and he was doing everything in his power to stop its descent.

"Thank you, Senator. May the Force be with you," Anakin mumbled as he traced his hand along the side of his yellow speeder. The Senator nodded back, and then he was gone. Anakin barely noticed the Senator's disappearance as he hopped into the vehicle. The counsel always knew when he tarried, and he didn't wish for another lecture or disapproving glance from Obi-Wan.

* * *

"Called for assistance, I did, Young Jedi," Yoda replied as Luke finally managed to bow his head slightly. Luke's neck hurt slightly from Chewbaca's arm landing on it, but Luke ignored the pain. He could always stretch out later and perform exercises to release the tension from his neck. Leia stepped up beside Luke and bowed her head as well. Luke kept his surprise hidden from his eyes as she did so.

"How may we offer our help, Master Jedi?" Leia asked as her eyes rose to meet Yoda's gaze. Yoda looked the twins over with sad eyes. How could the Jedi Order burden such a task on the shoulders of Jedi so young? Neither looked as if they had reached their thirtieth cycle, and both looked as if they had already lost so much. What had driven innocence out of them at such a young age?

"What are your names? Where do you come from? Who trained you?" Hadar Leef asked from Yoda's left. Luke opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. What if what they said here affected their lives back home? An encouraging presence entered his mind, and he inwardly smiled at Obi-Wan. The old Jedi Master was more of a father to him than Uncle Owen ever was. Unfortunately, except for the lightsaber duels and lackluster conversations, he never knew his real father.

"My name is Luke Skywalker, and this is my sister Leia Organa. For us to tell you where we're from exactly, you'll have to tell us where we are. I'm doing my best to train Leia the Force abilities, but perhaps a wiser Master can help me. Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi trained me as a Jedi," Luke stated calmly as whispers broke out among the council. Chewbacca placed a hand comfortingly on Luke's shoulder, and Yoda trained his eyes on the wookie.

"Good to see you, it is, old friend," Yoda said as he smiled at the wookie. Chewbacca kneeled down before Yoda and took Yoda's clawed hand in his paw. An unheard "Arrrg," was Yoda's answer as they spoke quietly. The council continued to whisper around them as Chewie let out a final bark and drew back beside Han. Han turned a questioning glance on the wookie, but Chewbacca ignored him. Did everyone know who Yoda was except him?

"You are in the Jedi Council on the planet of Coruscant in the cycle 3,065 JC," Mace Windu replied, as Luke looked thoughtful. Leia gave him a warning look, but he shrugged his shoulders. They couldn't make the future much worse than it already was. The Senate might not have already been disbanded for all he knew. After all, they didn't know what went wrong to begin with.

"Our homeworlds do not matter, but I will say that we are of the Rebel Alliance in the cycle of 3,090 JC, I believe. No one really follows the Jedi Calendar anymore in our time for obvious reasons, but I do believe we would be about twenty-five cycles in the future, give or take a few cycles," Luke replied nonchalantly as Leia stepped on his feet. He mock-glared at her as he shot, "Can we make things much worse?" _We might not be born if we go too far_, she sent back.

Obi-Wan cut into their light banter. "Skywalker… Are you perhaps related to Anakin Skywalker? I didn't realize Senator Organa had any relations to the Skywalker family," Obi-Wan mumbled to himself thoughtfully. R2-D2 beeped shrilly as Leia stiffened. Han Solo backed away toward the door as Anakin Skywalker stepped through and bowed to the Council. "Uh, can Chewie, the droids, and I leave before the family feud begins?" Han asked.

Mace Windu nodded to the smuggler, and Han Solo could barely keep himself from running as they raced out the door. He didn't usually leave the Princess to her own battles, but he didn't get involved in family feuds. Ever since he had found out that Vader was really Leia and Luke's father, he never brought the subject up again. Leia and Luke struggled enough with those matters on their own.

Back in the chamber, Anakin Skywalker glanced at the three people in the center of the room briefly before asking, "You summoned me, Masters?" Leia's muscles were tensed as Luke sent a warning to her through the Force. _This isn't the same man who killed your people, Leia. He may not even by our father yet. Meditate if you have to; I'm sure the Jedi won't mind. _

Leia let out a harsh breath as she let her knees give out beneath her. She calmed her breathing slightly as she opened herself to the Force. Recesses of darkness permeated her light, but she blocked out her father for the moment. Anakin could wait until she was ready to face him. Luke probed her gently, and she smiled at him. She used the light around her to pick up the rocks out of Luke's belt. This was an exercise they used often, and she smiled as the rocks floated around her. Obi-Wan frowned as he recognized the training, but he refrained from saying anything.

Luke envied Leia for moment in her state of calm as he snuck a look at the man beside him. He had felt Anakin Skywalker's Force signature many times before, and this time was no different. Instead of his father being surrounded by darkness though, there were only a few traces of the Dark Side in his father. Could they really save him from his fate as apprentice to Emperor Palpatine?

"Anakin, you are aware that the Sith pose an ever-growing threat to the Jedi?" Mace Windu asked as he looked to the Padawan. "Yes, Master Windu," Anakin answered in a slightly bored tone. He looked to the woman in the center of the chamber. Her hair fluttered lightly, reminding him of Padmé's tresses in the wind on Naboo. How he longed to hold his darling wife once more. She wouldn't be trying to hold him back.

"Yoda and Obi-Wan have brought reinforcements from the future to help us seek out and destroy the Sith. Anakin, as your trial to become a Jedi Knight, we need you to use their information to destroy either the Sith Lord or his apprentice," Windu stated with a spark of determination in his eyes. Anakin bowed his head as Obi-Wan smiled at his apprentice. Soon they would be brothers fighting side by side. "Yes, Master Windu," he answered.

The sound of rocks clattering to the floor could be heard on the marble floor. Leia had to hold her stomach as she laughed bitterly. The laughter wasn't maniac, but it held no joy. It reminded Obi-Wan of Qui-Gon's laughter whenever his master heard the name Xanith. Luke shook his head at the irony of the situation and kneeled down beside his sister. "Do neither of you think I'm capable of this task?" Anakin retorted sharply, anger seeping through his barely constrained words.

Luke rubbed Leia's back in circles until the laughter had left her. He pulled himself up to his full 5'8 height, and glared at Anakin's 6'1 form. "We know you're capable of killing the Emperor. You saved me twenty-five years in the future doing so, but we're not going to allow you to wait that long to kill him. Not this time," Luke growled as he refused to back down from his father's overpowering stature.

"I can destroy the Sith," Anakin said as he let his temper constrain him. He was a Jedi, but he had yet to learn control over his strongest emotions. Luke, on the other hand, let all feelings of annoyance leave him as he grabbed a hold of his father's collar and brought his head down to Luke's height. "I want you to listen, and I want you to listen carefully. You are my father, and I refuse to lose you to the Dark Side for another twenty years. You are not going to face His Royal Highness because I won't allow him to twist you and break you until we can't recognize you," he whispered fiercely. Luke pushed Anakin away from him and stepped back.

Yoda let his ears droop sadly as he leaned back in his chair. Anakin had been lost to the Dark Side sometime in the future, and he was one of the most powerful and deadly Jedi. No wonder Yoda had been unable to find much to help him in the future. No wonder young Luke Skywalker looked so eager to change every course of history there was. Luke and Leia were probably the only two Jedi left in their world.

Mace Windu looked at Yoda questioningly, but Yoda shook his head. No one else had heard Luke's vow, and none would ever know what he whispered unless they asked Luke himself. Yoda could feel Anakin's anger melting into confused turmoil as Luke returned to his sister. "Why is your last name, Organa, Leia?" Yoda urged gently as the woman rose off the floor with controlled grace.

Leia wavered slightly. "I was adopted by Bail Organa as a baby to stay hidden from my father, Master Yoda. The ploy worked, and he didn't know about me until the very end. I think he had to break Luke's Force shields apart to even get that small bit of information," Leia replied with a straight face. She was a politician, and she could keep face when it was absolutely vital. Yoda couldn't help but think, _So, he betrayed the Jedi, and we retaliated in the same manner. What has become of us?_

Leia and Luke stood their ground as they produced twin glares toward each other. Mace Windu sighed, "If you will not say anything further, we have another matter at hand. It seems that Chancellor Palpatine has been captured by the Separtists…"

I will try to leave out as many spoilers as possible for Episode III as many of you probably haven't seen it yet. I will say that while it is one of the best masterpieces of our time, it is also one of the most depressing. If anyone wants to discuss the new film with me, my screenname on AOL is Insanepineapple8. Ja ne, Insane Pineapple from Naboo


	3. Chapter 2: Battlements

**Important Note: **DBGT Goku mentioned that Anakin should be a Jedi Knight by this point in Revenge of the Sith. Yes, in Episode III, Anakin is a Jedi Knight; however, for the purposes of this fanfiction, I will need to temporarily keep Anakin as a Padawan. Anakin's status in the Jedi Order is essential to this chapter and the next chapter. I am also going to attempt to coincide part of this chapter with Revenge of the Sith. I don't see much in way of spoilers, but if you wish to avoid any hints into the beginning of Revenge of the Sith, skim over the very last part of the chapter.

**Time Frame:** The prologue occurred right before Revenge of the Sith. Anakin escorting Padmé home was unrelated to the end of Attack of the Clones.

Kelly: I couldn't send you the old version of the story because fanfictionnet cut off your email provider. Please leave your carrier in a review for me to send you the original version.

Sati James: I have yet to read any Star Wars book other than limited parts of Revenge of the Sith. I always perceived Leia as being angry towards her father for watching her planet being decimated. She will comes to terms with the fact Anakin isn't Darth Vader, _eventually. _In this story he had only died three months ago, and the wounds he caused her and Luke are still fresh in her mind. She's very passionate like her father, but in learning the ways of the Jedi, she will let go of her anger.

Changing History: Battlements

Han Solo would never admit in a million lightyears that he was terrified of Princess Leia when she was having one of her moments. Her hair stood up on end, and she always looked taller when she stared Han down in her anger. Some would call it cowardly that be was running away from the Jedi Council chambers; however, Han Solo called it saving his own skin. He hoped Luke could hold his own.

"Arrg!" Chewbacca growled at his partner in crime. The smaller human always managed to back out of his problems without a scratch on him.

"Of course I don't know where I'm going! Sithspit, Chewie, I don't even know where we are," Han yelled exasperatedly as he threw up his hands. Two Jedi walked past with their heads bowed in conversation. Neither so much as gave them a second glance as the Jedi proceeded down the long corridor. Han considered asking for directions back to the meeting, but he still wasn't ready to face Leia.

"Sir, maybe if we ask directions, we could surely…" Threepio was cut off abruptly by Han.

"And where are we asking directions to, Tin Can? Empire Headquarters?" Han asked sarcastically as Threepio muttered an apology to the smuggler. Han wasn't unusually cruel to the protocol droid, but they were lost in a building on some unknown planet with two of their party members possibly having an all-out war. Chewie barked out a sharp retort to Han in backing Threepio. _Calm yourself, young one. _Maybe it was Han's imagination, but the droid looked for something that was supposed to show no emotion.

Han stopped in front of a large window overlooking the planet. The sun was high on the horizon and cruisers filled the sky. A thought scratched at his memory, and he frowned. The city looked exactly as it did in their time, but they couldn't be on the forbidden planet. It was well known to all Rebel Alliance members. To step foot on Coruscant meant certain death and ultimate suicide.

Coruscant was where the Republic fell and the Empire began. Palpatine had declared himself Emperor, and the Senate welcomed the change with cheering and applause. The Senate was corrupt, but the leader was a strategic mastermind. The lights twinkled innocently at him in the distant, but Han could see the building from the Temple. It might have been his imagination, but Han thought he could see a dark shadow looming over the Senate's reigns.

A small tug at his sleeve caught Han's attention. He looked down into the most innocent blue eyes he'd only seen on the naïve Luke Skywalker in Mos Eisley. This boy, however, had dark brown hair and chubby cheeks to accompany his smile. His eyes showed only complete trust in Han, and Han could feel his knees give out from under him. Where had this innocence gone in the world they lived in today? Is this boy what Luke and Leia were to protect? Han could feel himself giving in to the need for change as he gave the boy a rare, true smile.

"Are you lost?" The tiny boy asked, curiosity peeking through his calm Jedi demeanor. Han's heart nearly broke in two when he thought that this boy might not make it through the next decade without their help. Han placed his heavy hand on the boy's shoulder. "I know the way back to our lessons if you wish to watch," the boy said innocently as hope shown through his bright gaze.

"We will watch over you. What's your name?" Han replied softly as if any more than a whisper would break the child. He took the child's hand as he rose to his feet. Chewie watched the Jedi with interest as he told the droids to stay in the hallway. Artoo-Detoo whistled and Threepio replied in kind as Chewbacca fell in step to the left side of Han. The smuggler seemed mesmerized by the child, and he would not break their moment.

"Cinquaran," the boy mumbled as he turned to look away. Was he ashamed to be the fifth child? Han wondered as they were led down a marble staircase. "I stand for the number of people in my family who have died to protect my home world on Mygeeto," Cinquaran continued softly. He bowed his head in respect for a moment at the bottom of the stairs. "You may call me Quaran if you wish."

Han sighed wistfully as he they turned right into a dark room. He would shoulder the burden of loss for this boy in a heartbeat if he could. Such innocence should not be lost at such a young age, especially in a school full of children. Quaran entered the room, shutting the door softly behind him. Chewie let out a low moan and pointed to the next door. Han nodded as he followed Chewie up a narrow staircase.

A balcony loosed the view to the entire chamber, and Han smiled encouragingly at the nervous-looking Quaran. The youngling bowed slightly to him before putting on a familiar looking helmet. Ah, so maybe the old man wasn't so crazy after all. Han winced as one of the blaster bolts slipped through Quaran's practice saber. Chewie stood behind Han as a silent witness to Jedi training.

"Wonderful, a child's mind is. Hate, they know not. Anger, they know not. Unconditional love is all they know," Yoda stated impassively as he looked over the side of the balcony. Han startled at his voice and looked down at the little green creature. "Surprised, are you, to see me?" Yoda inquired as he looked up to the taller man. Han shook his head and let out a low chuckle.

"Luke told me about you, in our universe. He says that everything is a lesson, and that we are all students of the Force, even when we are masters of our own trades. I suppose he got his wisdom from you," Han replied, not quite answering the question. He didn't wish for a Jedi master to see a weakness in him as a first impression. He would use Luke's knowledge to the best of his extent.

"Believe, you do not in the Force. Why is this?" Yoda observed as the younglings finished their training. One of the younglings lingered behind, looking up at the balcony expectantly. "A question, have you?" Yoda stopped Han's answer before he had the chance.

The youngling bowed to Yoda before approaching the old balcony. "May I speak to the newcomers, Master Yoda?" Cinquaran asked softly as his gaze flicked to Han. Han smiled nervously in response as he wished to finish with the Jedi Master as quickly as possible. Yoda's fingers wrapper tightly around his gimmer stick as he tapped the floor. "Patience, you will have," Yoda reprimanded sharply.

"Youngling, wait outside you will. Be with you shortly, he shall," Yoda answered Quaran curtly as he turned his head to look at the smuggler.

"To say I completely believe in the Force would be a lie, but I traveled too far and too long with Luke be ignorant. I don't know everything the Force can do, and I know almost nothing about it, but I do know it's out there. I'll never believe in it fully because I don't have the abilities to access it. I'm sorry if this disappoints you," Han gave the gritty, mixed truth. He tried for Leia, but he would never be able to be like her.

"Doubt, you have. Anger, perhaps? The Skywalkers' fate is not yet decided. Worry, you should not," Yoda stated as he walked towards the door. The words felt unnatural in his mouth, but Han had to say them before Yoda left. "May the Force be with you!" he called after Yoda. Yoda stopped momentarily and nodded to the smuggler as he continued on his way down the corridor.

Han looked over the rails to the empty room. A dark shadow hung over this place, and he could taste a bittersweet aftermath on the air. The Jedi had been destroyed at some point, and they had dropped into the middle of the war. If Luke was right about the time, they stopped by for a visit right before all the fireworks happened for the Empire. Even if to only save the innocence of one youngling, he would fight to death to keep history from repeating itself.

"Master Solo?" Quaran asked as he peeked his head around the corner. Han looked into those deep forest green eyes with a wistful smile as he turned to Chewie. "The council must be through with their important Jedi business by now. Can you find Luke and the droids? I go find Her Highness and see if we have a place to spend the next decade or so…" Han trailed off as he took a few steps toward the youngling.

"Are we in trouble, Master Solo?" Quaran asked with an air of trepidation.

"Why do you ask, Kid?" Han used his nickname for Luke because it seemed to fit the child. Quaran wasn't as immature or as fearful as Luke was in the beginning, but the kid probably didn't grow up on a moisture farm either. Luke's talent for finding trouble was spawned from curiosity about all life. Quaran seemed to want to know everything before jumping headfirst into action, much like the Jedi Order he served.

"I've been having bad dreams lately, but Master Windu says they will pass in time. I don't think they're dreams anymore, Master Solo. I think my dreams are visions of the future, and bad things are coming. He is going to turn evil soon, and the one person who can stop it won't know until it's too late," Quaran whispered as they stopped at one of the meditation chambers. Han hesitated before entering.

"Look, kid, call me Han. I'm less of a Jedi master than you are." Quaran's face fell, and he scoffed his feet as he sulked about the room. Han added quickly, "Is who you're talking about one of the Jedi here now? Maybe he's the one with the last name Skywalker?" Han winced as he said the last words. Quaran brightened slightly, and Han sighed, as he knew what was coming next.

"You've been having these visions too? They must be real! But that means," Quaran whispered excitedly as a fearful expression crossed his eyes. Han gulped as he turned to look out the window. Coruscant was safer outside than the waging war within the Force, but Han's gaze flicked to the Senate, and he gave up in defeat. Darkness was everywhere, and he was constantly being reminded of how war looked back home. Sure, sometimes the Alliance glorified its heroes, but the end was hardly worth the means.

Han sighed and knelt down in front of Quaran. "I am here to make sure your vision and mine do not come true. Now, listen to me. If your visions start getting worse, come tell Chewie or me immediately. We can't fix a problem we don't know about. Can you do that for me?" Han needed a vow to this because he would not lose another person he loved to this war. He attempted to detach himself from other people after his parents were killed in a firefight, but Luke, Leia, and Chewie managed to worm their way back into his heart anyway. He even had a soft spot for R2-D2 and C-3PO.

"I promise," Quaran admonished as he gave Han a shaky smile. Han clasped Quaran on the shoulder as he stood up before all of Coruscant. The sun was starting to make its descent on Coruscant and night would soon cover the city with artificial lights. Han turned away from the youngling and strode out the door as he went to find Leia. He wished he could get her alone for an hour or so, but it probably wouldn't happen. Such was the life of a cynical realist.

Luke never had the proper training of a Jedi warrior. He was introduced to the Force ways by Obi-Wan Kenobi, trained his reflexes courtesy of Yoda on Dagobah, and learned what not to do from his father. Luke also liked to think the independent study he took upon himself to partake in raised him to the level of a Jedi Knight faster than any other Jedi before him. That's exactly why Mace Windu had disarmed him in exactly one minute, thirty-three seconds.

"You must feel the Force flow through you, Luke. You can't resist the Force's guidance in the midst of a battle. Do not be afraid of what it can do for you," Mace Windu urged as Luke called his lightsaber to him. Mace wiped the sweat from his brow as he studied the Jedi before him. The truth of the matter was that the Skywalker line was very powerful in Force-users. Luke was no exception, but he held back in his training sessions.

Luke wasn't afraid of the Force. Luke was afraid of what he would do with the Force in another life or death duel. Anakin had died to spare his son's life, and Luke would not repay him by falling to the Dark Side. Even though he renounced the ploy placed in his head by the Emperor, the thought of almost turning lurked in the recesses of his mind. Until he let the past go, he would never be able to move on in his training.

Luke bowed to Mace Windu and activated his lightsaber. A column of light burst out of hand in a shower of deadly beauty. Luke locked away his passion, for passion led to the Dark Side, and serenity filled his senses. The training room held nothing but the sparers and empty space, but Luke could feel the Force charged in the vary particles of the air. Tiny pinpricks of light submerged the room in energy as they always did for Luke.

Mace Windu responded in deep violet sprung from his lightsaber. Without giving Luke a chance to hesitate, Mace dug his feet in the floor and mentally pushed his entire weight forward. Luke sidestepped the attempt and brought his lightsaber into a downward arc. Mace parried the blow off-balance as he swung his left foot around behind him. Mace's arms shook with the effort to hold off the green lightsaber, but physical pain was beyond the Jedi.

Mace was in the process of looking for Luke's shatterpoint, but when he opened himself to Luke's essence, he was blinded by the sheer midichlorian count. Luke took struck at Mace's disadvantage, but the Vaapad Master leapt away from the attack at the last second. Windu enjoyed the fighting and so only he could master the Vaapad style. No one could defeat Master Windu in a lightsaber duel because Master Windu was the epitome of fighting.

Luke Skywalker could only find one way to counter the Jedi Master's form. Luke always denied the Dark Side, but he did occasionally give into the _passion_ of the lightsaber duels. His parries and thrusts were driven by a love of the Force and a purpose for being someone else's pawn in the political battle. Luke was very much a chess piece in that Obi-Wan and Yoda tried to use him against his father. Palpatine wanted Luke to take Vader's place as a new apprentice, and Vader wanted Luke to rule the galaxy as Father and Son after dethroning the emperor.

Mace Windu was a different character in Luke's eyes. The Jedi Master had no interest in using Luke in some strategic political game anymore than he would use Threepio. Luke silently thanked the Vaapad for allowing such a passive master to fight him. Luke brought his lightsaber down to Windu's knees, and the dance began. Mace cut low at Luke's feet, but Luke toes around the sparks the lightsaber made as it scrape the floor.

Violet clashed with green as Luke raised his lightsaber above his head. Adrenaline raced through his veins, and he kept his anger at bay. All emotions were usually swept into the void, but Luke needed something to drive his passion, and he needed his passion to drive his actions. Necessity and love swirled inside him as he brushed Mace's lightsaber away from his right sleeve.

The midichlorians signaled to Luke a fraction too late, and Luke found Windu's lightsaber at his throat before he could blink. Luke sighed as he deactivated his own lightsaber and dangled the weapon on his belt. He breathed heavily as he wiped the sweat from his brow and checked the time to his right. He froze as he saw the time before him. The duel took eighteen minutes and nineteen seconds.

"Not bad, Luke. Tell me, who was your master?" Mace Windu asked as casually as possible. The fact the duel had lasted over eighteen minutes greatly disturbed him. Only Yoda had ever beaten him in a duel, and only Obi-Wan could dance with the lightsabers for more than fifteen minutes at a time. Luke showed more interest in the Vaapad way than any other duelers before him.

Luke smiled bitterly as he looked back at the Jedi Master. "Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was my teacher for a brief time. Soon afterwards though, Yoda became my Jedi Master," Luke answered as the dark shields on the windows began to rise. The afternoon soon poured into the room, and Luke picked up his heavy cloak from where he had discarded it early on in the duel. He smiled at the light touch his old teachers gave him for comfort.

"Impossible," Master Windu muttered as he looked to Luke in disbelief. "It takes years to forge a proper Padawan bond and even then, the Padawan could be incapacitated. Besides, why would Obi-Wan give up his Padawan? Did the Jedi Council in the future send Master Kenobi on a long-term mission?" Mace asked as he studied the young man in front of him. He didn't appear to by lying, but looks could be deceiving. However, he didn't sense any discrepancies in the Force.

"Old Ben didn't have much of a choice when he left me to fend for myself. He was killed by a Dark Lord of the Sith in front of me, so I would have a chance at life," he murmured as he bowed his head in respect. He could tell Obi-Wan wanted to shimmer into the room with them, but now was not the time to appear as ghostly figures. Mace Windu had already had enough surprises for one week.

"Old Ben?" Mace sighed as he rubbed his temple. Luke looked away from the Vaapad Master. "You have your secrets, and I will respect them for the moment. There is one thing I need to make clear before we begin again. I do not trust Anakin Skywalker, and because you bear an uncanny resemblance to him, I must withhold my trust to you. You are a stranger in the Temple, and these are dark times. We do not know who the Sith are, and you withhold their names. Maybe you have your reasoning, but I cannot give you my trust until you show me that I have something to trust."

"I know who the Sith Lord is, but I do not believe the Jedi Council is ready for him," Luke said with heaviness in his voice as he crossed the room. A bitter laugh echoed through his skull and he glared at the shimmering form Obi-Wan Kenobi off in the distance. _Ready? I don't think we were ever ready for the Sith, Luke. If you do not tell them to act against Palpatine soon, history will repeat itself. _

"I do not believe the Jedi Council is the problem here, Young Skywalker. What is really keeping you from telling us the mystery of the Sith?" Mace Windu asked as he placed his calloused hand on Luke's shoulder. No wonder the council never got anything done. They all thought alike. '_Unfortunate, but true, Young One. Blinded, we were by our own arrogance,' _Yoda stated impassively as he also shimmered into view.

"I'm not ready to face him again. I need more time," Luke whispered resolutely as he bowed his head in defeat. Palpatine was probably more powerful now than he was in the future. '_I cannot do this alone, Masters. I don't even know who trusts me in this time. I don't even know if I can trust myself to do the right thing if I must. How can I face my father again? He's so full of anger…'_Luke sent back in seeking for their guidance.

"Time is something we may not have, Luke. We are getting closer to the truth of the Sith every day. He will not stay in hiding for long," Master Windu urged as he searched the conflict within Luke. The boy didn't shield his emotions very well, but in this case, Luke wanted Mace to find the chaos within. Mace frowned as he found more than one Force signature inside the Young Jedi.

_'Why doesn't he see you? Why doesn't anyone else see you when I do?' _Luke asked curiously as Mace Windu poked and prodded his mental state. _'Luke, we anchored ourselves to _you _when we became one with the Force. We remain immortal to you because our conscious minds are ingrained in your memory. You are the one blocking other people from seeing us. Trust your feelings about who you let see us,'_ Obi-Wan answered as he crossed his arms.

"Are you looking for someone, Master Windu?" Luke asked without turning around to face Mace. Mace didn't respond as he studied the shatterpoints of Luke Skywalker. Luke was interconnected with several unidentifiable Jedi and one dark, overshadowing presence. Mace almost held his lightsaber at Luke's throat right there, but Luke himself only showed the purest of the midichlorians. Hints of darkness loomed over Luke, but he was not of the dark.

Luke wanted to shut out the Vaapad master, but he would need Mace Windu's help in coming to an accord with the Jedi Council. He was positive he could win Yoda's and Obi-Wan's trusts with ease, but he needed at least three Jedi to see his way of thinking to be able to persuade the Council. He heard a tsking sound from the manipulating Jedi, but he sent a half-grin to his former Masters.

Luke cleared the cobwebs from his mind and truly opened himself to Mace Windu. Mace Windu held his breath in awe at the tangled webs surrounded Luke. Anakin Skywalker's mind was complicated, but his was nothing compared to Luke's. Luke had lines interwoven closely with Yoda, Obi-Wan, and the tainted strands of Anakin Skywalker. Leia's web hovered on the outskirts, and the essence of the Dark Side crept into many of the strands.

Luke broke Mace Windu's concentration before the Jedi could look deeper into the darkness to discover the identity of the Sith. "Open your eyes, Master Windu," Luke commanded softly as he turned to face the two Jedi in the center of the room. Obi-Wan and Yoda shimmered closer to Luke as Mace Windu opened his eyes in wonderment. At first, all he saw was a magnitude of light. Then, he opened his real eyes.

"I'd like you to meet my former masters Obi-Wan and Yoda," Luke stated softly as he smiled the two Jedi. Mace Windu inclined his head to the masters in respect. Yoda held his gimmer stick out before as he twitched his ears slightly. Obi-Wan smiled at his old friend as he turned to face his apprentice. "_Thank you, Luke_," Obi-Wan stated in a proud manner as he watched the young man who had grown into a fine Jedi.

"Master Yoda, Master Obi-Wan, it is good to see you have both found peace in the Force. However, I am sorry to hear you are not among us in the future. Why do you come before us?" Master Windu asked. His heart was heavy by the fact the green creature had not survived much longer when he had been among the Jedi for hundreds of years. Yoda was the wisest among the Jedi, and no one compared to his vast amount of knowledge.

"_A request I have of you, Mace. Send this youngling with Skywalker, you must. Both must go to rescue the Chancellor from General Grievous_," Yoda spoke fiercely. Anakin would not be lost with hundreds of other Jedi this time if Yoda could help it. Mace showed a hint of concern before he replied, "I'm afraid Anakin and Obi-Wan left almost an hour ago to prepare for the attack on General Grievous' ship. Is Anakin Skywalker in danger?"

"This is where I chase after them, isn't it?" Luke asked Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at him, and Luke sighed. "I'm going; I'm going. Where's the hangar bay, Master Windu?" Mace replied with the fifth level, and Luke mumbled with his way out the door. "Where's Han's luck when you need it?" Luke tried his best not to whine, but old habits died hard from the moisture farm on Tatooine.

"_Skywalker is traveling down a path we can't follow. None of the Jedi Masters can, not even me_," Obi-Wan said with a sigh as he locked gazes with Mace Windu. Mace Windu looked puzzled for a moment before his eyes widened and the wheels started churning within him. He gathered his cloak and moved towards the door, but the mind of Yoda cut him off. _'But perhaps Luke can.'_

Luke looked around in awe at the ships in the hangar. "Why don't we have ships like this?" he asked aloud as he raced over to one of the Nubian fighters. He couldn't stop himself from tracing his hands along the silver and yellow sheens as he looked over the engines. The X-Wing models the Rebel Alliance used were more practical than the TIE-fighters the Empire used, but these were just plain class.

"After awhile, the empire went for mass rather than quality. Fortunately for the empire, most of their pilots were humans instead of clones, so their fighters at least had some skill. The clones were renamed stormtroopers as the Emperor wanted soldiers he could easily replace. We had a Nubian fighter on Alderaan, but we were pacifists. The ship really is a beauty, isn't she?" Leia wondered wistfully as she watched her brother with a small smile.

"I bet she can maneuver through anything, even through beggars canyon back home," Luke stated with glee. Leia wondered where his innocence had disappeared too in the last year of battle. If he were this excited over a Nubian fighter, she would give him a hundred ships to make him happy. She laughed as he vaulted himself up into the pilot's seat. R2-D2 beeped beside her, and she looked at him in puzzlement.

"I don't think he's going anywhere Artoo. I think he's just checking over the ship," she answered with a frown to his beeps and whistles. Luke was muttering over something as he fired up the engines. "Where are you going?" Leia called to her brother as Artoo started rolling toward the ship. Luke looked gratefully at the droid as he had the ship put Artoo in the droid compartment.

"Oh my," Threepio panicked slightly as the engines. "I'm following father and Obi-Wan. Don't worry; I'll be back soon!" He shouted over the roaring engines. He grinned sheepishly at her as he sealed himself inside the cabin. "That's it! Am I the only sane person in this family?" she asked in exasperation as Luke took off for the stars. She ran toward the end of the hangar after him as he disappeared into the gunfire and exploding lights.

"Oh, I do hope they'll be alright," Threepio stated as his metal feet clanked on the floor behind her. The battle raged above the city planet with ships disappearing into the atmosphere in balls of fire. Luke could pilot through anything, but she worried whenever she couldn't be there to help him. "Me too, Threepio. Me too," she answered as she leaned against the side of the doors. It was dangerous for her to stand so close to the edge with the wind whipping so quickly, but she had to know if he came back unharmed.

Luke placed the headset over his head as Artoo sent a message to the screen. "No, Artoo, I don't know where I'm going. The Force will guide me," Luke replied as the comlink produced static. He bit his lip as he reached out through the Force. He spun the ship left as a missile barely clipped his wing. Atroo beeped shrilly at him, and he cursed as the missile followed him through the firefight.

"I see it, Artoo. Hold on, I'm going in for a dive," Luke stated quickly as he pushed the controls down to the max. He didn't know if the ship he was going toward was friend or foe, but he had to shake the missile off his tail. A loss of this one ship could help save many, many more in the future. "Reverse thrusters, Artoo," Luke commanded through his comlink. The ship went into a tailspin as he sped toward the ship below.

"I know what I'm doing. I picked it up from Han in a dogfight," Luke said through his gritted teeth. Artoo panicked more at the thought of anything from Han, but Luke was concentrating on the ship below. He would need just the right timing as he went in for the near-suicide run. The ship approached faster and faster, and Luke must have only been three feet from the ship went he pulled up.

The missile hit the ship with an exploding impact to cover the ship with small looking droids that immediately started doing damage. "I wonder what those are," Luke asked with a frown as he flew closer to the ship with the highest security. _Buzz droids. Very annoying creatures. _Artoo sent across the screen, and Luke chuckled as he changed frequencies on his comlink.

"Nubian T-18, identify yourself immediately, or we will open fire on you!" Crackled through his link as Luke centered his controls. He didn't have time to chitchat with friend, foe, or smuggler. Luke raced forward toward the command ship. Several ships opened fire upon him as he neared the large starship. Droids flew from the ship towards him, but he let the droids go as they were destroyed by the attempts to destroy him from behind.

The hatch was sealed off from this side as if someone had tried to blast their way in. "I'm going to a pass, Artoo. There's got to be another way in," Luke said as he took his fighter over the ship. He grinned as he noticed the shield was still up on the opposite side. The blue haze soon disappeared as Luke fired at the control panel. Luke had to turn the ship into a vertical position when the hatch began to close.

Luke winced as his Nubian fighter (he had already begun to call it his) scraped across the floor. He managed to knock out two droids and another ship in the process while sustaining various bots of damage. Luke jerked forward in the cockpit as his head hit the liquidated glass in front of him. Pain shot through his skull, and he cut feel the drizzle of blood course down the side of his hairline.

He winced as he unstrapped the restraints and slumped forward in his seat. He pushed the door to the cockpit open and forced himself out of the enclosed space. A tingling ran up Luke's left arm, but he tried to sooth it with the Force. The mechanics in his right hand still worked properly, so he could use his lightsaber if necessary. His left arm was numb and would be useless in a fight, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Artoo beeped in concern as he vaulted away from the burned out Nubian fighter. Luke withheld a wince as he patted the droid with his right hand. "I need you to meet me in the control room, Artoo. I have a feeling we won't be flying out of here in the fighter," Luke said softly as he felt around for his lightsaber. The faithful was hooked onto his belt snuggly, and he vowed to never lose it again to his father.

Luke frowned as he felt for his father's presence in the Force. Anakin and Obi-Wan were rising higher each second, and Luke had to catch up to them in time. He had no idea what he was stopping his father from doing, but the Force was pressing a sense of urgency down upon him. He didn't notice the two Artoo units greeting each other in kind as he made his way to the highest floor possible.

The elevator shaft was a mass of charred wires and frayed metal. Luke took one look at the elevator, shook his head, muttered curses under his breath, and turned the other way. In his state, he wouldn't be able to climb anything in case the elevator was stuck on a level. He also couldn't reach his terminal to call for Artoo with one arm hanging limply at his side. The idea crosses his mind well before he realized it.

There were stairs. There were always stairs on a ship like this. However, the stairs Luke found were grungy and full of various sorts of grime. Luke gritted his teeth as he forced himself onto the first step. The step creaked under his weight with misuse, but it held. Luke took a deep breath and ran for all his life's worth. His chest burned with the effort getting to his father on time, and the numbness in his arm spread to his left side.

He didn't know how many sets of stairs he ran, but he took each at a time without recognition. Finally, no more stairs were to be had, and he burst through the door. Luke slid as he began a Force-induced run to the last door in the short corridor. A final set of stairs, and he was in. A door slamming caught Anakin Skywalker off balance as Luke used the Force to rip both lightsabers from his hands. Anakin looked momentarily dazed before he tried to recall the lightsaber. He was met by a Force wall as Luke pushed back.

After writing eleven pages (6,002 words), I think I'm entitled to a cliffhanger. Anyway, I need to know all the people who haven't seen Revenge of the Sith yet. Basically, I need to know how many people I could be spoiling (by accident) in later chapters. Happy reading! Ja ne, Insane Pineapple from Naboo


	4. Chapter 3: Internal Battles

AN: I'm going to attempt to do this chapter justice. This should be a very deep and emotional time for all characters involved, so forgive me if I botch it too badly. Finally, I did have one person ask me where the relationships will be going in this story. Changing History is NOT a story focused on Anakin/Padmé. It might have glimpses of their relationship, and they will still be together, but I will not make it a main feature.

Warning: This chapter does have a few spoilers from Revenge of the Sith. I won't be basing this story on Revenge of the Sith any longer after this chapter.

Changing History: Internal Wars

"What do you think you're doing?" Anakin growled dangerously as anger coursed through the Force in him. Who was this person who dared interfere with a battle between the Jedi and the Sith? This imposter was obviously not who he said he was.

Dooku was torn between groveling at his savior's feet or lashing out in anger toward his former master. Palpatine had stopped cackling menacingly and was now watching the newcomer in interest. He paid no heed to Dooku as his former apprentice cursed his burned limbs. Blackened chars were all that were left of Dooku's wrists where Anakin had sawn off his hands with the lightsaber.

His father was indeed a powerful man in his prime. Luke struggled to hold Anakin's magnitude of power back as he surveyed the situation. Luke's hands were shaking with the effort to hold Anakin's sheer power back. "Are you going down the Dark Path?" Luke yelled and with Anakin's brief hesitation, he forced their wall of power across the room toward Dooku and Palpatine carelessly. Palpatine snarled he snapped the Force bonds off his wrists and threw himself to the side. He clung to the stairs as gravitation tried to pull him outwards.

Dooku wasn't so lucky as the windows shattered in the observation room. He attempted to yell out a warning, "Palpatine is a…" but his words were lost on the wind as he was carried out the window to the firestorm outside. Anakin and Luke both slid forward a few feet before the airlock doors snapped shut around the window frame. Anakin dropped the red lightsaber to the wind, but it didn't make it outside the room as it clattered to the floor harmlessly.

"What?" Anakin asked as his anger was quelled only slightly. He failed to notice Palpatine brushing off his clothes as he muttered to himself. His thoughts were only on the Jedi ahead of him as Luke's hands dropped to his sides. "Are you asking me if I'm a Sith?" Anakin asked in doubt as he studied the Jedi in front of him in disbelief. How could anyone accuse him of being the very thing he fought against moments before?

"If not, then why is there so much anger in you? You were going to kill him, weren't you?" Luke asked as he stepped toward Anakin. Dooku, Yoda, and a few others had seen the anger in him before. Why did this new person care so much about what he felt? This man…no, this boy barely knew him. Would people ever stop trying to judge him?

Anakin took a shaky breath as he dropped the red lightsaber he had moved to pick up. The Sith weapon rolled to the feet of the unconscious Obi-Wan. "I didn't…I couldn't…" Anakin answered shakily as he fell to his knees. "He tried to kill the Chancellor. Dooku was going to kill Obi-Wan if I didn't stop him!" Anakin said with bitter resolve as the broken man was replaced by someone with passionate anger. Anakin's hair fell into eyes to mask his emotions from the Jedi.

"He was stopped, and he was at your mercy," Luke replied as he seemed to see the Chancellor for the first time. Palpatine had been edging toward Obi-Wan, and Luke looked to him as he descended the stairs. "Chancellor, is it?" Luke asked as he made his way to Anakin. Accusations wouldn't get him far with either his father or Palpatine, and he needed a different tactic if he was to get through to Anakin. Anakin had his back to the Chancellor, but his shoulders tensed as Luke moved closer. Palpatine was unarmed and chained to the throne, or so he thought.

Palpatine straightened and gave a cautious smile to Luke. Luke Skywalker was new territory to the Chancellor, and he didn't expect another obstacle to Anakin so soon. Oh well, he had overcome many problems before, and he would crush his new opponent. Anakin would be his new apprentice no matter what situation arose.

"I am Chancellor Palpatine of the grand Republic. And, you are?" Palpatine asked in formality. This presence was indeed powerful, but he did not show as much potential as young Skywalker did did. Palpatine frowned as the powerful person whispered to Anakin as he ignored Palpatine for a good five minutes. He wished to hear their hushed conversation, but he knew he would cast himself in suspicion if he moved much closer to the men. He needed information about the young Jedi, and he needed it now. The situation did not suit him.

"Take Obi-Wan and get out of here," Luke whispered fiercely to Anakin as he tensed his muscles. His father, of course, would have to carry the stubborn, Skywalker trait in him. Anakin rose in a swirl of robes as he glared at his supposed protégé. Who was he to take control of the situation?

"I will not leave the Chancellor to your devices. The Council may trust you, but I do not," Anakin growled as he inched his clutched his hand around his lightsaber. Anger was the path to the Dark Side, but he no longer perceived boundaries of dark or light. Anakin stepped back a pace as Luke touched his mind briefly with the Force. Anakin slammed Luke out of his mind with his mental shields.

"How can all of you be so ignorant?" Luke managed in a strangled yell. Did you have to touch the Darkness to be able to see through the lies and deceit? Unfortunately, if he killed Palpatine in front of Anakin, or attempted to kill Palpatine in front of Anakin, he'd probably lose his father in the process. Dark times were ahead no matter which path he decided to take. The slightest touch with Anakin's mind was enough to see how his emotions were too interlaced to be simply gotten rid of. Luke shook his head as Anakin started to answer.

"Who do you trust? Who would you follow blindly to any end?" Luke tried once more as he stepped toward his father. Anakin was dangerous at the moment, and he was ready to fall to either side. Anakin was no longer Jedi anymore than he was Sith. He was merely a Force-user caught in the crossroads between darkness and light.

"Why are you here? I don't know who you are, or where you come from, but if you answer nothing else, answer this. Why are you here?" Anakin inquired as Palpatine decided to inch closer to Obi-Wan. Neither Jedi knew the Chancellor's intentions toward the fallen master, and neither wished to think about the consequences of leaving him alone.

"I'm not here to help the Jedi Council. As a matter of fact, I'm not even here to help my own masters. I am here to make you sure you don't fall into a future you can't escape. I haven't seen all the horrors of your past, and I know you think you're justified in your anger, but I want you to know one thing. I will not leave your side until you realize that every decision you make effects everyone you know and love," Luke whispered fiercely as a spark turned the cobalt eyes to stormy blue.

"You're wrong," Anakin argued as the ship rocked suddenly. Something must have hit the ship, but the outside world was beyond them now. It could all end right here and now, and everything was in Anakin Skywalker's hands. "You don't even know me. Why am I so important to you cause?" Anakin asked as the ship rocked once more. Were they not users of the Force, they would have fallen to the ground with the rest of the crew levels below.

Luke laughed harshly, but the sound wasn't merry. He wasn't the innocent farmboy who grew up with his aunt and uncle on Tatooine anymore. He wasn't even the same person who killed thousands of men when he blew up the first Death Star to save a few hundred. "I have seen the good in you, but I also seen the bad. You don't know who you are, anymore than I did."

"And you do now?" Anakin asked sarcastically as the ship decided to rollick. Something disastrous had been hit, and the ship turned sideways as it descended to the planet below. "I am Padawan Anakin Skywalker, and my master is Obi-Wan Kenobi. He is one of the few people I would dying saving, so I suggest you get out of my way," Anakin snarled as he lost his footing. Both he and Luke slid toward Obi-Wan's moaning form. Luke's former master had the worst habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"You'll have to convince me of that later," Luke yelled as he grabbed onto one of the rails. The metal creaked in his hands, and he knew it wouldn't hold on for long. Anakin nails bled as he held onto one of the breaks in the flooring. He tried to reach for Obi-Wan, but he couldn't pull his master out from under the power cell Dooku had thrown on top of him. Obi-wan might have broken something under the weight of the power cell.

"Leave him!" Anakin heard Palpatine yell form his spot near the throne. "His fate will be the same as ours!" Anakin yelled back as several destroyed droids rolled past his head. Obi-Wan would surely owe him for saving his life for the tenth time. Besides, Obi-Wan was the father he never had, and he was damned if he would leave one of the few people he ever looked up to on a burning ship with no escape.

"Can you reach him?" Luke called after his father as the pole started to bend underneath his weight. It wouldn't do much good if they all died now. "Does it look like I can reach him?" Anakin called back, and Luke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Now was not the time for petty argument or a battle of wills. His former teacher needed help now.

Obi-Wan was just starting to regain consciousness as the ship rolled once more. Luke used the Force to push the power cell off Obi-Wan long enough for Anakin to grasp Obi-Wan's hand and pull him into a somewhat safer position. "Did I miss something?" Obi-Wan asked as he looked around. The room was a mess from the fighting, and the young Luke Skywalker was hanging from a pole above them. They were definitely still on the observation deck, but it was almost unrecognizable in their current position.

"Don't worry, Master, we left you some of the action. Besides, we're in a bit of a situation. Chancellor, are you alright?" Anakin truly acknowledged Palpatine's presence for the first time since the fight with Dooku began. "How did you get out of the bonds?" he asked in a confused voice. It seemed he had missed the entire scene when he was arguing with Luke.

"It seemed Count Dooku had a change of heart in regards to me before he met his untimely end," Palpatine stated dramatically. He ignored Luke's snort as he continued. "I'm hanging onto the window sill. Oh, how will we ever make it out of here alive?" Palpatine made a motion as if he was going to fall to his doom that very instant. He still wished to learn about the newest Jedi, but his manipulation of Anakin was far more important at the moment.

"Do you trust me, Master?" Anakin asked softly as he grasped Obi-Wan's wrist firmly. Luke looked torn with exhaustion, and as much as he didn't trust the man, he wasn't going to leave him to die here. Palpatine wasn't within either of their reaches, but perhaps with a bit of leverage, they could all reach safety on the other side of the door.

"Only with my life, my Padawan," Obi-Wan replied as he clutched at the floor. The boy was foolhardy at times, but he did have a good head on his shoulders. He would ask about Dooku's 'untimely end' later when they went before the Jedi Council. "What did you have in mind?" he asked as he saw Luke slip from the pole he was holding onto.

Anakin dropped Obi-Wan for a slip second as he used the Force to propel the grappling hook his hand. Obi-Wan was much quicker at calling the failsafe to his hands as his grappling hook met with the opposite side of the room. Anakin's met with the other side of the room seconds after as he swung around to grab Luke's right wrist as he fell.

"Don't ask," Luke choked out as Anakin felt a large lump in the wrist. Any normal man's hand would have snapped off in backlash with having been caught in such a way, but Luke barely flinched at the sensation. Anakin frowned as he pulled Luke closer to himself. Something was familiar about the boy as if he had always been a part of Anakin. Anakin shook off the feeling as inconsequential.

"Obi-Wan, can you reach the Chancellor?" Anakin asked as he pushed himself off the floor with Luke still in his grasp. They swung toward the door he and Obi-Wan had come through in a pendulum motion as Obi-Wan reached the Chancellor. Obi-Wan ignored the pain in his legs as he grabbed Palpatine by the waist. "Pardon me, Chancellor," he said in respect.

On a final swing, both Luke and Anakin were sent tumbling through the door by the release of the grappling hook. Luke turned to reach the doorframe, and his left hand was met by sharp metal. A vertical cut ripped through his hand, and he released the door on reflex. Tears were made in his tan Jedi outerwear as both he and Anakin were sent toward an elevator shaft.

The doors were open, and Anakin grabbed onto the first set of wires he could reach. He missed Luke's clothes as he fell through the shaft and he shouted after the young Jedi. A thud was heard below him, and he didn't wish to see the broken body that was surely below him. Instead, he called out to Luke, "Are you still alive down there?"

Luke couldn't cease the large smile that graced his lips. "I'm right below you," he said as he tugged at Anakin's boot. The elevator had only been one floor down, and while his collision had hurt, the pain was bearable on his weary body. Had he not been dueling with Mace Windu beforehand, surely he would be fine now for another battle.

Had Obi-Wan been the one who fell nearly to his death only to land on the elevator, Anakin would have offered the older Jedi a sheepish smile and a "I knew that. I just wanted to show you I cared." Instead, Anakin let go of the wire to land on the elevator much more gracefully than Luke had. They could walk down the elevator shaft if only the elevator would move…

Anakin fumbled around in his belt for a few moments before producing his comlink. There was little light in the space they had, but he managed to find signal. "Artoo, I need you to turn Elevator D-11 on and send it down a few levels. Meet us in the fifth level corridor," he commanded to the astromech unit. "What?" he asked Luke as he could feel the Jedi staring at him in the dark.

"What about Obi-Wan and Palpatine? Should we wait for them?" Luke asked as the elevator started moving down. They started following the path of the elevator as the ship jerked once more. Luke sighed as he felt his feet give out from under him, and he grasped Anakin's cloak as he used the grappling hook a final time. Luke had stopped carrying a grappling hook after the first Death star had been destroyed, but he saw now that it's uses were highly invaluable.

They tumbled through the sixth level doorway as soon as Luke opened it. "Why do you suddenly care about what happens to them? You only cared about what happened to me earlier," Anakin replied as a barb, and Luke winced. He didn't want to seem like he was using Obi-Wan to get to Anakin, and he had no intentions to manipulate the other Jedi, even if he was doing so unconsciously.

"I could care less about the Chancellor. (He'd be better off dead anyway…) I do care about what happens to Obi-Wan though," Luke retorted as he nearly walked into a ray shield. "Sithspit!" Luke said exasperatedly as he ignited his lightsaber and slashed at the shield. "No, wait!" was lost on Luke as the shield responded with a wisp of lightning slinging the weapon out of his hand. He held his right hand limply as he studied the compartment in his wrist. The components were completely and utterly fried.

"Any ideas?" Luke asked his companion. Luke's right hand was completely useless, and he did feel pain in his synthetic limb. He asked the droid for a limb that would give him all sensations when they replaced it, and unfortunately, sensations included pain. He attempted to flex his fingers to no avail. The situation entirely depended on his father now, and he would have to trust the good in him.

"After hearing the commotion you just made, Artoo should be along any second now. He can shut down the ray shield, and we'll be on our way to rendezvous with Obi-Wan," Anakin said smugly as he handed Luke back his lightsaber. Artoo did indeed come moments later, but he brought an entire battalion of droids with him.

As Artoo fought and lost badly to the other droids, Luke wished his Artoo unit went straight to the command center on the ship. "Any other ideas?" Luke asked as the ray shield was dropped. The droids looked confused for moment before moving in on the Jedi. Anakin's Artoo unit lay prone on the floor in front of them.

"This is all your fault, you know," Anakin stated matter-of-factly as their lightsabers were removed. One of the droids placed a blaster in his back to maneuver them through the obstacle course and into the elevator. "How is it all my fault?" Luke asked as he looked at Anakin in disbelief. Why was everything always his fault?

"If you hadn't stopped me from killing Dooku, we could've been out of here long before this," Anakin argued as the elevator started moving up once more. In the back of his mind, Anakin knew their current situation wasn't Luke's responsibility, but he needed somewhere to put the blame. His anger was wild, and he needed a focus.

"You keep telling yourself that, Hotshot," Luke retorted as the elevator came to a screeching halt. If it weren't for the destroyers behind them, they'd have been out of the ship long before anyone else could get in their way. Luke didn't need any urging as the door slid open to the hallway in front of the command center. He really needed to speak to whoever had been flying this thing.

"Look, you said you're going to follow me around, right?" Anakin asked as they were marched toward the command room. Luke nodded tightly to show he was listening. "If you're going to follow _me, _I want you to listen for a change. We're going to have to get along for at least the next ten minutes so we can leave this ship. You may not want to fight with me, but for the next couple of minutes, you don't have a choice," Anakin took control of his life for the first time in years.

Luke half-expected to command a walking carpet out of his way as he smiled. He always thought Leia took after her mother, but apparently she received her passion from Father. Luke was still smiling when Anakin gave him an odd look. General Grievous was a half-alien, half-machine creature who appeared to be sick in old age, but he still mocked Obi-Wan for being the one captured.

"What are you smiling at?" Grievous sneered as he coughed in a grotesque manner. Luke continued to cradle his hand as Obi-Wan called for his extra lightsaber from the reawakened Artoo unit. Anakin also called his weapon forth from Grievous as Palpatine fled into the shadows. Alas, Palpatine wasn't nearly as weak as he put himself out to be.

Anakin and Obi-Wan were whirls of motion as droids fell to the floor in pieces. Luke attacked a few droids with his blaster since his right hand was no longer functioning. He could use his lightsaber with his left hand, but he was far more effective left-handed with a blaster. He considered shooting down the Chancellor where he stood, but he was satisfied by the look of mock terror on the Chancellors face when he shot the droids three inches from his face.

When someone knocked the glass out of the windowpane, Luke grabbed onto the first thing he saw, his own Artoo-Detoo. Artoo beeped shrilly as he was forced back by the extra weight. "Hang on, Artoo," Luke whispered to his droid as he held onto Artoo's leg with his good hand. Luke watched as Grievous was thrown out the window with several other droids. "Great, I have to make another lightsaber."

Obi-Wan let go of the panel as the airlock fastened on the windowpane. "Can you fly a cruiser like this?" Obi-Wan asked his apprentice as Luke came up behind them. Anakin shook his head as he noticed the escape pods had left. "You mean, do I know how to land what's left of this thing?" Anakin asks as the ship tilts forward.

"Well?" Luke asks impatiently as Artoo beeps beside him. Anakin gives him a look, and Luke sits down behind him. "Under the circumstances, I'd say the ability to pilot this thing is irrelevant. Strap yourselves in," Anakin commanded as he opened the dragfins. "Open all hatches, Artoo," Anakin continued as he tried to force the ship into a level position.

Both Artoos beeped, and he looked beside him. "I'm not going to ask…just, one of you open all the hatches." Only Anakin's voice betrayed his confusion as a loud grating sound could be heard. "I think we lost something," Luke commented as his gaze crossed the screen. "You could say that," Anakin replied as the ship burned in the atmosphere.

"Not to worry; we're still flying half the ship," Obi-Wan says cheerfully as he holds onto his seat. Palpatine wandered if everyone had gone out of their right minds. If he survived this, he would make Anakin his apprentice as soon as possible to get him away from this madman. How could he be cheerful when they could very well die in the next few minutes?

A voice cackled through the comlink "We'll bring you in," the clone commander said as they sprayed foam on the burning engines. "Hey, that's one of the guys who tried to shoot me down!" Luke said excitedly as he leaned forward. Anakin hit his hand as he tried to touch the communicator. "Fine," Luke mumbled as he pulled his hand back. He'd have to talk to the clone commander later.

Impacts are never a pleasant thing to go through, and Luke was painfully jarred from his thoughts when they hit the runway. He winced as his restrains cut into his shoulder, and his Artoo went flying into the control panel. Palpatine was mumbling something about excellent flying techniques to Anakin, and Luke raised an eyebrow to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan shrugged charismatically as he said, "Another happy landing." Luke slouched down in his chair as he covered his eyes. They were all doomed, and no one could save them now. Obi-Wan chuckled as he put his hand on the young Jedi's shoulder. "You'll get used to our energy the longer you stay here. Is there something the matter, Luke?"

"No, nothing at all," Luke replied as he uncovered his eyes. Palpatine had turned to the back of the ship, and Anakin had followed shortly after. Luke had formed an uneasy truce with Anakin, but he really needed to speak with Obi-Wan or Yoda alone as soon as possible. Watching Obi-Wan's departing form, he decided to wait until they were on solid ground.

Artoo bumped into his legs, and he smiled down at his droid. "I'm going, Artoo. I'm going," he assured the little droid as he made his way out of the control room. He didn't know where they were going to get off the ship, but he decided to walk straight back to where the hull used to be. Unfortunately, fire had consumed the very end.

Chars were all that was left of the hull, and Luke winced at the damage. He had grown attached to the small Nubian fighter he had come in, but the little ship was no longer. It had burned in the atmosphere with the rest of the hull. Luke dropped his head to his chest as he gave a moment of mourning to the beauty which had died in their escape.

"Who died?" Anakin asked softly as he came to a stop beside Luke. Obi-Wan and Palpatine had already left the ship for a small transport to take them to the Senate. Palpatine seemed almost too eager to leave as he had paid many compliments to Anakin, but Anakin shrugged most of them off. He didn't need his ego fed any more today than necessary.

"I came in a Nubian fighter with my Artoo unit to reach you in time," Luke replied softly. He could've said more, but words were not needed. Anakin himself knew the beauty and grace of the Nubian fighters as he himself had fought for the independence of Naboo. The yellow ships held a graceful power unlike any others.

"We must be going," Anakin brought Luke out of his reverie. "Come on, Artoo," Luke urged as he followed Anakin to the elevator. For once, they actually rode the elevator with a purpose of getting somewhere, and Luke sighed wistfully at their leave. He would probably never see the damaged ship again where such much had happened in so short a time.

Glaring sunlight hit Anakin's eyes as he walked away from the burned corpse of a ship. Grievous had escaped, and Dooku had died still, but the journey had not been a complete disaster. They managed to rescue the Chancellor from the clutches of the Sith, and they had the Separtist leaders on the run. No, today was a good step for the Republic.

"Where did you find your Artoo unit?" Anakin asked in sudden curiosity. The burning question had stayed in his mind half the descent, but he didn't have time to know until now. Luke smiled at the question as he gazed at his droid fondly. "Artoo came to me on my homeworld looking for Obi-Wan. Both he and Threepio have been with me ever since; however, Threepio has mostly followed Leia since we came across her."

"Threepio is with you too?" Anakin asked as they boarded the transport. Palpatine laughing at a joke the pilot had made, and Obi-Wan sat back in quiet meditation. "He's still at the Tempole with Leia," Luke answered dispassionately as he sat beside Obi-Wan. Exhaustion would have its way with him, and he could only give in to sleep.

The trip was short, but it seemed a lifetime to Luke. He had succumbed to a light doze, and he was only jarred by a sudden stop on the platform. His eyes were unfocused as he caught snitches of the conversation from Obi-Wan to Anakin. He yawned and only barely managed to cover his mouth his left hand. He would need medical attention seen to his right hand as soon as possible.

"You can be the poster boy today, Anakin. It was you after all who saved me," Obi-Wan was bantering lightly with his Padawan as Anakin was about to be swept off by the crowds. "Alright, Master, but you owe me one! I've already saved you ten times before," Anakin teased lightly he adjusted his Jedi cloak. He fixed his Padawan braid behind his ear with a brilliant smile.

"Nine times, Anakin. That time on Nemoid Cato doesn't, doesn't count. I'll see you back at the Temple, my Padawan. They will surely make you a knight for this," Obi-Wan praised his apprentice as he stepped back inside the transport. Anakin smiled after his Master as he walked back to the politicians. Palpatine was being worried over, and Mace Windu offering condolences on behalf of the Jedi.

"You truly don't know, do you? None of you know?" Luke asked his former Jedi Master tiredly. His brain was filled with cloudy thoughts, and he didn't know what he was saying. Unfortunately, the Force would not be ignored, and he found he couldn't fight it any longer. Much of his strength had been depleted in the duels with Mace Windu and Anakin Skywalker.

"Know what?" Obi-Wan asked as he took a seat beside Luke. The young Jedi looked as if a small push in the Force could knock him over at any minute, and he needed his rest. If he had something to say before he returned to his sleep, Obi-Wan would lend him an ear. Luke had been very secretive thus far, and any bit of information they could have would be useful.

"That Palpatine is the Sith Lord," Luke answered as his eyes began to close. His eyes snapped back open a moment later as he realized what he had said. He stood and backed away from Obi-Wan as his former master gaped at him. Words were lost to the master force-user as his jaw refused to work. Finally, he managed to get out a few words…

"Palpatine is a _what_?"

Author's Notes: Oh, I am so evil! cackles insanely Should I run now or wait until everyone gets in line to kill me? Ja ne, Insane Pineapple from Naboo

Does anyone else feel sorry Obi-Wan and Anakin?


	5. Chapter 4: To Fall into Darkness

Author's Notes: I thought I should warn you guys now. I'm infamous for my cliffhangers, and sometimes cliffhangers are just the best way to end the chapter. It leaves the reader wondering what's going to happen next at every turn.

Changing History: To Fall into Darkness 

Obi-Wan blinked once, twice. "Driver, turn us around!" he commanded as the airspeeder jerked to a stop. He didn't know if he trusted the younger Jedi's word, but he wasn't about to put Anakin's life on the line to prove a point. Not only had their worst fears been confirmed by a Sith Lord controlling the Senate, but Anakin's anger would be encouraged beyond the point of return.

"Take us back to the Jedi Temple!" Luke told the droid just as forcefully. Even in his half-awake state, Luke knew they were in no condition to fight to the soon-to-be Emperor. He needed medical attention as soon as possible on his wrist, and Obi-Wan looked worse for wear. Anakin could handle himself for another day while they were fetching help from the Jedi Temple.

"I'm not going to leave Anakin in the hands of a Sith! He's like a brother to me, and I will not let him be killed by the hands of a politician," Obi-Wan stated as the airspeeder turned a one eighty. Anakin could handle himself against Dooku, but against a Sith Master? Obi-Wan looked on in disbelief as Luke let out a dark chuckle.

"I don't think Palpatine has much interest in killing Anakin," Luke said in disinterest. He had adverted immediate danger with the Sith Apprentice, but intervention would be needed soon enough if Anakin were to stay a Jedi. He would watch his father carefully under the extended training, but Palpatine was the real threat now.

"What?" Obi-Wan asked as he stared at Luke. "Are the Sith not the mortal enemies of the Jedi in your time? Do they not attempt to annihilate us at every turn?" He asked as he stepped towards the Jedi. They had reached the Temple, but they would not leave the ship until their conversation was over. No matter how badly Luke needed medical attention, the fate of the Chosen One was more important. Anakin's fate was more important.

"I wouldn't say attempt," Luke answered cryptically as he tried to open the door. Obi-Wan blocked his way as Luke tried to make his escape. Luke looked into the eyes of someone who had only one thing to lose and everything to gain. Obi-Wan Kenobi had long trained himself to let go of his pain, but he was not ready to lose the one person who taught him how to live again.

"There aren't any Jedi left in the future, are there?" Obi-Wan asked Luke softly as his eyes closed. He felt himself lose control of his emotions as grief left him blinded. "But the prophecy said the Force will be balanced by the Chosen One, and the Chosen One is Anakin Skywalker. Please tell me he lives through this encounter with Palpatine," Obi-Wan whispered at a loss.

"Well, the Force does get balanced," Luke answered as he smiled at the irony. "And yes, Anakin does live through this encounter with Palpatine. At least, from your point of view, I believe he lives," Luke added as he opened the door. He sidestepped Obi-Wan and pulled the cloak a little farther over his wrist. He didn't want more people to ask questions than what was absolutely necessary.

"What about Palpatine?" Obi-Wan called after him. They couldn't just leave a Sith Lord running about with emergency powers from the Senate. Anakin was powerful, but in case the Chancellor did attack, he would need help from the other Jedi. The Council would surely make Anakin a Jedi Knight after his fight with Dooku, and Obi-Wan smiled at his Padawan's antics.

"I need medical attention, and you need rest or meditation before you collapse," Luke answered as he faced his former master. "You can tell the Council now or later; either way, they'll still be deliberating by the time you wake up," Luke continued as he watched the incoming Jedi. "Do you mind showing me the medibay before you go into session?" he asked innocently.

Obi-Wan could see the future proceedings in his mind quite clearly. The Council would debate the matter for hours on deciding which Jedi should risk their lives to kill to the Sith Lord. Mace Windu would finally be among the ones chosen, along with a few other powerful Jedi, and he would confront Anakin on his trip back from the politicians. After seeing Leef Hadar about to sweeten his argument with his Padawan, Obi-Wan turned back to Luke. "Certainly, Luke. Right this way…"

Obi-Wan exited the airspeeder behind Luke as they cut to the left of the incoming Jedi. Yoda was waiting for them at the top of the stairs with his gimmer stick resting at an odd angle. "News, have you?" Yoda asked as he peered down at the Jedi. Luke was attempting to conceal his right wrist, but Yoda saw through the façade.

Obi-Wan bowed to the Jedi Master, and Luke followed to his right. Had Luke taken one step back, he would have been in the same position the Padawans were when they mimicked their Masters' movements. Luke smiled at the image of his father's Padawan braid tucked neatly behind his right ear. Luke nearly missed the knowing glance in Obi-Wan's eyes, but he found himself questioning whether the glance had been there.

"We need to call an emergency Council session, Yoda," Obi-Wan answered as he looked his older friend in the eye. "Something has happened, and the identity of the Sith has been revealed. Luke and I need an hour at least to recover if you wish to wait that long," Obi-Wan finished as he pressed for a sense of urgency. The Council needed to meet as soon as possible to come to a decision.

"No," Yoda stated as he hit his gimmer stick on the marble step. "Quickly we must act if we are to destroy the Sith. Where is young Skywalker?" Yoda asked as he motioned for the Jedi to follow him. The Council had dispersed as Mace Windu arrived at the platform. Master Windu reassured several of the Jedi Chancellor Palpatine was completely unharmed.

"He was escorting Chancellor Palpatine and his entourage back to the Senate," Luke replied with false cheer as he waited for the look from Obi-Wan. He smiled and shrugged at his former master as Obi-Wan came to a stop in front of the medibay. Several healers were mulling about on the inside, and Luke cringed at the needles stocked on various shelves. Leia was the one with paranoia of needles, but Luke had received hints of her fear after years of being bonded with her.

"Is there a problem, Luke?" Obi-Wan asked as he glanced in the medibay. Nothing appeared to be out of order, but the young man continued to stand in the doorway without asking for assistance. "Drillig, can you help him? We'll need Luke in the Council immediately after you finish with him," Obi-Wan told the healer as Luke was guided into the room.

"What can I do for you, Master Luke?" Cirus Drillig asked as he grabbed a clipboard on the table beside one of the beds. He motioned for Luke to take a seat as he typed a few things into the database. Luke backed as far onto the bed as possible as he tried to focus on the walls. When he had formed a Master/Apprentice bond with Leia, he left himself open to her feelings so he could help her overcome her fears. Unfortunately, needles had been so ingrained in her mind, and he had started to develop parts of her state as well. Eventually, he had to temporarily cut their bond so he wouldn't permanently be able to access the emotion of the dark side.

"My prosthetic hand was damaged in battle," he answered as he pulled his sleeve back form his wrist. Several of the wires were completely fried, and it was an odd feeling to no longer have one of his hands. The pain had been numbed, but nothing was attached to his wrist any longer. He tried to flex his fingers once more to no avail.

"Hm… your hand is a model I am unfamiliar with. It is advanced beyond even our medical expertise, and I'm not sure we can salvage the model you have. Where did you have it put on?" Drillig asked with a frown as he turned the wrist over. With gloves on, no one would be able to tell this Jedi had any prosthetic limbs at all.

"Aboard Mediship 1358, but I don't expect the ship to be around in this time," Luke answered as he closed his eyes. Great, when they went back in time, they forsook valuable medical knowledge. He hoped he wouldn't have a replacement similar to his father's. Anakin's prosthetic arm was much larger than his normal one, and it didn't appear to have much feeling.

"I have never seen the ship you speak of. We will have to run a few tests to determine whether we can fix your wrist since replacing the hand would be very awkward for you. I assume the Council needs your lightsaber hand in good condition?" Drillig asked as he made a few notes in the database. This was an unusual case that had to be taken with careful precision.

Luke laughed lightly as he brought his wrist back to his chest. "You don't need to stick any needles in me, do you?" Drillig gave him a look, and Luke gulped down the knot that caught in his throat. "Yes, they need my lightsaber hand in good condition, particularly with the same hand. It took me a few months to be able to coordinate again with the hand I have," Luke added nervously as the healer picked up one of the smaller needles.

"I just need a small blood sample, Luke," the healer said calmly as he pricked a finger on Luke's good hand. The Jedi let out a small sigh as the needle was taken away from him to be replaced by a test tube. The healer offered Luke a tiny bacta patch, and he motioned to his bad wrist. Drillig wrapped the patch around Luke's finger as he ran the test tube into the machine beside him.

"What are you looking for?" Luke asked curiously as he looked at the machine over the healer's shoulder. He could understand the need for a scan, but why did they need a blood test? Luke couldn't see most of the screen, but most of what was there said 'unknown.' Well, if he wasn't born yet, he couldn't have any medical files. How do would explain to someone he didn't exist yet?

"This can't be correct; there must be something wrong with the analysis," Drillig muttered as he moved to check another database. "What can't be correct?" Luke asked as he leaned forward on his elbows. He wasn't about to become the next lab experiment, but the situation did interest him. What would the healers do once they found out who he really was?

"The databank says you're the son of Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker. Neither one of them is old enough to have children your age," the medic replied as he tapped his pen against the screen. "Our files have never been wrong before; I don't understand what the problem is," Drillig said in frustration. They had never had a system malfunction before, and they shouldn't start having them now.

"The databank is correct," Luke assured the frantic healer. "Padmé," he said thoughtfully. He savored the taste of his mother's name for a moment as he read the screen. Mother: Padmé Amidala Naberrie. He proceeded to read her homeworld was Naboo and that she was a Senator in the Republic. He would ask Anakin about her later.

"If the information is correct, I must report it to the Council immediately. Padawan Skywalker has broken the Jedi Code," Drillig insisted as he moved to the door. He didn't want to expose the Jedi, but he had no choice in the matter. He held most information about his patients as confidential, but he had been ordered to personally give all information about Anakin Skywalker to the Council.

Luke moved to stand in front of the healer. "You will not take this information to the Council. If I have to use the Force to stop you, I will, but you don't realize what this could do to the future," Luke said as he held his ground. The Jedi healer tried to move past, but Luke held him back. "Please, just fix my hand and forget you ever saw my parentage," Luke pleaded as he prepared to use a Jedi mind trick.

"I will have to tell them eventually, and all I can give you is time to tell them yourself," Drillig compromised. Luke fought with conflict for a moment before nodding and dropping his hand. The Council would know eventually, and he could at least wait until his mother began to show to voice his thoughts. He would seek council with Obi-Wan before making any further move. Somehow, Obi-Wan seemed more understanding than Yoda.

"I don't know how long I will need, but I will tell them," Luke agreed as he let the healer pass. "Can you fix what's left of my wrist?" Luke asked as he moved back to the bed. Disaster had been avoided for the moment, but the peace wouldn't last long. Tensions were already high in the Temple, and he could feel the heat about to boil over. Luke didn't notice when Drillig ran a smaller scanner over his wrist.

"The motor functions in your wrist are able to be fixed immediately; however, the sensors in the main chamber were destroyed. It'll take at least a day for us to make to replacement for you," Drillig answered as he motioned another healer over. Drillig tapped his fingers on the database thoughtfully as he resisted the urge to glance at Luke. "Who would have ever thought?"

Luke regarded his wrist with distaste as he prepared himself for the sensation. He would be able to move his hand in any way he needed, but he wouldn't be able to feel anything. He cringed as he thought of the battles ahead without having feeling in one of his limbs. Even if they did have the prototype ready in a day, he probably wouldn't be here to receive it.

"I need you to repair the internal wires in the right chamber. I'll also need the disk set in the bottom left chamber. Can you make it one of our highest priorities to create a prototype for his sensors?" Drillig asked his assistant quietly. S'arai understood almost immediately as she brought the tools necessary for the task together. This must be one of the secret patients she wasn't supposed to talk about with other clients. Corruption was evident in the Jedi Temple, but she and Drillig were fighting hard to keep corruption out of the medibay.

Electricity shot out of her cable as S'arai worked quickly to fix the motor wires in Luke's wrist. They had given him no painkillers, but his hand went numb as a gritty feeling settled in his hand. Luke fought hard not to pull his wrist back when the new doctor grabbed a hook off the table. What was she planning to do with that?

"This won't hurt a bit," S'arai murmured as she hooked onto the small diskette and yanked the contraption out of his wrist. Luke pulled his hand back to his chest, and he cradled the limb as though someone had cut into the flesh there. He closed the small box around his wrist and attempted to flex his fingers. The fingers creaked in disuse, but he would manage.

S'arai handed Drillig the disk before she attended her own patients. "You will have to tell the Council about Anakin soon," Drillig spoke as he inserted the disk into the database. The screen showed a complex diagram of Luke's prosthetic with the damaged sensors. Luke cringed as he saw the blackened chars, and he unconsciously rubbed his hand in circles.

"You haven't given me much of a choice," Luke murmured as he hopped off the bed. Drillig stopped him before he could make his way to the door. "You put yourself in that situation the moment you decided to come here. I don't know why, but you came here to change your future, and to change to your future, you have to change your father's history."

* * *

"More news, you have?" Yoda inquired as his old student looked deeply troubled. Even when Obi-Wan was a youngling, he had always broadcasted his emotions. As Obi-Wan developed into a Padawan, he learned to bury his emotions when he was around Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan was still the emotional youngling at heart, and Yoda was one of the few people who could still read the Jedi Master.

"I believe Anakin is in trouble, Master Yoda, and I'm not sure I can help him," Obi-Wan finally offered as his shoulders sagged. Dark times were coming, and his Padawan was in the center of the currents. "Luke has been hinting at something larger, but I don't know where his train of thought has been leading us," Obi-Wan continued as he looked out into space.

"Assume, you do, that Luke speaks the truth. What does he speak of?" Yoda prodded gently as he led his former student to the Council chambers. Although Jedi were not allowed to have attachments, Yoda always favored Obi-Wan over many of the Padawans and younglings at the Temple. Obi-Wan was both an emotional and intelligent student, and he would be one of the few who could see to the downfall of the Sith in his prime condition.

"He said Palpatine wouldn't kill Anakin, but I'm not sure why," Obi-Wan murmured distractedly as he failed to noticed the widening of Yoda's eyes. "I didn't sense any deceit in Luke's voice when of this to me. It was almost as if he wanted us to save ourselves," Obi-Wan finished; however, Yoda had track of what Obi-Wan was saying after his first sentence.

"No need for a Council, will there be," Yoda commanded softly as he came to an abrupt stop. He tapped his gimmer stick on the floor in front of Obi-Wan to bring the younger Master out of his daze. "Rest, you must. A task, I have for you, and you will fulfill it," Yoda said in a no-nonsense manner as he looked Obi-Wan directly in the eye.

"What are you asking of me?" Obi-Wan wondered wearily. His old friend rarely asked him to do personal favors, and the Council would never send him on a personal mission. Yoda was asking him as a friend out of respect and not as a Council member. If Yoda wished for him to go after Palpatine with only Anakin by his side, he would cross his limitations.

"Leave the Temple, Anakin must not. If a Sith Lord, Palpatine is, we will do what we must," Yoda answered with determination. Anakin would try to save his friend, but Obi-Wan was one of the few people who could talk sense into the Padawan. "If passes this trial, he does, we will make him a Jedi Knight," Yoda finished in a slightly softer tone.

"Wasn't defeating Dooku enough?" Obi-Wan asked exasperatedly as he knelt down in front of the Jedi Master. He was determined to have his Padawan made a Jedi Knight in front of the Council, and nothing would stand in his way. If they wanted Anakin inside the Temple while they pursued Palpatine, he would keep Anakin inside the Temple, but Anakin had already more than proven himself.

"Ask this of you, the Council does. Anakin will be made a Jedi," Yoda stood firm, and Obi-Wan suddenly noticed how old the green creature looked in the fading light. Yoda would be lost to the universe soon enough, and the entire Jedi Temple would have to train itself for his passing. Yoda still had a little fight left in him though.

"Someone has already been sent after Palpatine, haven't they?" Obi-Wan asked as he closed his eyes. It would explain why Yoda had disappeared for those few minutes, and it would explain why Anakin needed to be watched immediately. "Where is Anakin?" he inquired as he kept his eyes closed. Anakin was not responding to a light mental probe.

"Know the answer to this, you do," Yoda answered as he watched his former student in expectation. Obi-Wan was trying to control his breathing through a quick meditation exercise Qui-Gon had taught him long ago. No, Anakin would not remain inside the Temple as he had never entered the Temple to begin with. Palpatine's influence reached much further than they could have ever feared.

"Blast!" Obi-Wan cursed as he ran off to find his headstrong Padawan. Obi-Wan nearly ran into several Jedi members as he raced toward the lower levels of the Temple in search of a speeder. Yoda watched the young man with a knowing smile.

Yoda's ears twitched slightly as heard the man who came with the new Jedi. He was fascinated by the fact Cinquaran, the youngling having the most problems grasping the Living Force, would cling to a smuggler of all people. Han was the least calm among the people of the future, and he would never succeed at understanding the Force.

Yoda crept quietly to the door and peeked into the crack. Temporary living arrangements had to be made for Han Solo and Chewbacca while their original living arrangements were detained. Han had grumbled about moving at first, but not like this. "I am not rooming with the tin can! It's one thing when I have to listen to him while we're on the Millenium Falcon, but I am not going to listen to him when I'm trying to sleep!"

"Pardon me, Captain Solo, but as I have said before, I am not a tin can. I am a protocol droid that can speak over six million languages," Threepio's indignant reply filtered through the doorway. Oh Force, they let the smuggler captain a ship. How did any of them manage to survive this long? Yoda pondered over the new information as he watched the scene with growing interest.

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before. You're a protocol droid who speaks over six million languages, but you don't have any common sense. Tragic, really. I am not arguing with a droid…." Han trailed off as Chewbacca managed to share his piece. "Chewie, I know he's Luke's droid." A few barks later, "Yes, I can stop arguing with him for ten minutes. Chewie!"

"Has he been like this ever since we got here?" Luke asked in concern behind Yoda. Yoda turned to see Luke leaning over him in the doorway. The young Jedi had been asking Leia the question, but he was looking to Yoda in a questioning manner. Yoda glanced hard at Luke. The young Jedi resembled someone inside the Temple, but the answer eluded him.

"Worse," Leia answered with a sigh. "He's been on edge because there's nothing he can do about our situation. He's taking it out on Threepio because a droid can't really fight back, and there's only so much Chewbacca and I can do," Leia said as she shut the door quietly from Yoda and Luke's prying eyes. They didn't need to see how tense Han was from this standpoint.

"Is there anything we can do for him?" Luke asked with a small glance of hope toward his sister. She shook her head, and he dropped his shoulders. "He needs a mission to be sent on as some sort of distraction," Luke muttered as he shared a look with Leia. He was hoping Yoda could suggest a mission, but even if Yoda liked the smuggler, his plan might not work.

"Send him to Kashyyyk, I will," Yoda finally replied as he realized what game Luke and Leia were trying to play. "Accompany him, we will," Yoda said with no room for argument from Leia. The situation on Kashyyyk was critical, and he had good relations with the Wookies. He had friendly relations with all of the leaders, and his ten-minute meeting with Mace Windu had decided that he would be sent to Kashyyyk while Mace overlooked matters at the Temple.

"But what do I do?" Luke asked in confusion as he looked back in forth between Leia and Yoda. His old master was determined to take Leia and Han on a trip to some unheard of planet, while they left him here to wreck matters even worse with his father. Well, at least his mother hadn't showed up on Coruscant yet. He didn't know if he could handle the tidal wave of both his parents' emotions at the moment.

"Help Obi-Wan, you must. Anakin is reckless," Yoda answered as they moved away from Han's door. Many Jedi looked to be preparing for battle now as they raced through the hallways with lightsabers jangling at their belts. Luke could smell fear on the air as something drove at the conscious of his mind. What did he need to help Obi-Wan with? The Jedi could handle himself.

"Anakin is just a Padawan and soon-to-be Jedi Knight. Obi-Wan doesn't need my help in training him," Luke said in puzzlement. Not to mention how weird it would feel to train his own father, he added silently. "Wait, please tell me you didn't send any Jedi after Palpatine," Luke corrected as he waited for Yoda's response in apprehension.

"Problem, this is?" Yoda asked as Luke began to figure out the turning wheels. None of the Jedi sent after Palpatine would return or they would die at a later point in time. Was this the point where his father had become the madness of the Dark Side? Maybe not, but the events soon to pass were important to Anakin Skywalker's future.

"I guess you could say that. 'Problem' is a bit of an understatement," Luke replied as he could feel the recesses of a headache coming on. He had two choices ahead of him, and neither one was very appealing. He could go after his father and try to fight off Palpatine's influence on his father, or he could go after Palpatine, sending Anakin into a wave of anger. Both paths were very dangerous, and even the lightest tread would send off repercussions he wouldn't be able to control.

"Know where they are, you do," Yoda said cryptically as he entered the door to Han's room. Luke wanted to stop the older master to ask him what 'they' he meant, but he knew Yoda wouldn't tell him. He had his choices ahead of him, and any decision he made would efficiently change the flow of the past. He could also choose to do nothing, but nothing would be altered.

"What do I do, Leia?" Luke asked helplessly as he leaned against the wall. Leia watched her brother brokenly as she went over to hug him. They had come to the past because it was something he needed. He was the one who needed closure on their father, she would support him in whatever decision he made. There was nothing else she could do for him.

"I don't know, Luke. I just don't know," she answered into his embrace as she held onto him. They had only had each other as brother and sister for three months now, but they had a stronger relationship than ever. This was a family matter to decide, and they had to live with this for years. The thought of losing Han sickened her, but she believed she would meet the smuggler in another time.

"We're hopeless," Luke muttered into his sister's robes. Yoda was waiting for their decision patiently inside Han's room as he spoke to Han, but Luke would have him wait for just a little while longer. Time was not on their side, but they had eternity to make things right. If nothing else, they would relieve the events they had faced to overcome the challenges once more.

"We'll make it," Leia replied softly as she stepped back from Luke. Luke wasn't sure what their mother looked like when she was still alive, but he was sure she was much like Leia. Moments like these showed compassion even when things were at their worst. "You know what you have to do, Luke," Leia said with a firmer resolve. And he did; he truly did.

* * *

A.N.: I'm sorry I didn't get this chapter out sooner, but I had a few computer problems earlier this week. As a matter of fact, I lost half the chapter when we lost power in the computer room for two days. I have a few individual notes for people, and then I'll thank everyone else who reviewed the last chapter. Now that I have the hit counter, I can't believe how many people read without reviewing! That's all right, I'm happy just knowing a lot of people like this story. Oh, and I'll fix the grammar at a later point in time.

Angus Hardie: Padmé will not be making an appearance for awhile yet. I'm no longer basing the story off the movie, but I'll try to work Padmé in as soon as possible (Don't you just love my cliffhangers? ))

Meirelle: Oh, you will encounter larger cliffhangers. Don't worry about that.

The Daxinator: Yes, there are a few other stories with the same idea, but if you take a look at when I started this story, you can probably guess who had the original idea.

Lovewildfire: I know you're one of the readers from one of my other stories, but I can't figure out which one!

Pineapple Lover: Your comment made my day so much. I hope I kept everyone in character this chapter!

Lunatic Pandora1: Constructive criticism is only good if you tell me what you're confused about, and I'm sorry, but I'm not seeing the whole Jedi-Han thing. I even went back and reread all the chapters, and I still can't find Han acting like a Jedi Master.

Blackheart Syaroan: Sorry to inform you of this, but Dooku is dead, and he's not coming back. He did somewhat redeem himself, but he served his purpose in this story. Thanks for the recommendations though.

Diji: Well, if this is the best you've read so far, let me recommend Valerie Vancollie to you. She's a far better writer than I'll probably ever be.

Thanks also to Myotismon13, SnowyOwl-17 (who picked out a segment for this chapter), Virginia-Riddle Malfoy, Maxennce, MatrixSailorStarKnightz, Elf Girl (I'll send it to you tomorrow), Shadowflame, ambereyes2873, nice, oricola, and Maethorwen of Atlantis.


	6. Chapter 5: The End Justifies the Means

Author's Notes: Well, this is the chapter quite a few of you have been waiting for. You'll see exactly what I mean in a few pages. Oh, and you'll also see exactly why I had a transition chapter for chapter four. Plenty of action is ahead.

Changing History: The End Justifies the Means

Darkness descended upon Coruscant, and the stars could not be seen from the city below. Lights were dimmed in the iridescent smoke, and the buildings waited in eerie silence. The end was near, and the people could only watch and hope for a demise of corruption. Unfortunately, it was not to end how everyone wished, and shadows coated everything. Even the strongest had trouble putting faith in one Jedi. The sun would not bring light the next day.

Anakin Skywalker didn't know what was happening, but he did know he had to reach Chancellor Palpatine soon. The fate of the Force rested in his palm, and he would not let the other Jedi destroy the second half of the equation before he had a chance to create it. Dark whispers were driving him mad, and Palpatine had him ensnared in a web of uncertainty. Something told him Padmé was in danger, and he would not lose his wife like he lost his mother.

A stairway passed and a hallway blurred in his memory. He couldn't feel the soft marble beneath his feet, and he couldn't see the world outside. Nothing would stop him from saving his beloved, and to save her, he had to save Palpatine. They were a packaged deal. The closer he got to Palpatine, the closer he could feel the dark tendrils wrapping around his mind. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became a creature of shadow who knew nothing but madness. Palpatine had sown the seed of evil deep in his mind, and the brightest light could not snuff it out.

A door refused to open to his Force abilities and a guttural scream ripped from his throat as he tried to claw it open. He would overcome any barrier in his path. His lightsaber flew to mind, and he tried to call the weapon to his hand. When the metal wouldn't come, he looked down at his belt. Both his lightsaber and his grappling hook had disappeared, and Anakin looked frantically around for his saviors. "Anakin!" Obi-Wan's voice boomed through the room, and Anakin noticed his surroundings for the first time.

A table had overturned in his wake, and a rug barely survived for another day. Obi-Wan was standing on the other side of the hallway with his lightsaber dangling in his left hand. The blue column shot from the blade as Obi-Wan turned it over in his palm. Anakin stalked forward towards his master as Obi-Wan shut the opposite door to intrusions. Anakin threw himself at the door in an attempt to reach Palpatine in time, but Obi-Wan held his ground.

"I have to reach the chancellor, Master. They're going to kill him!" Anakin shouted as he tried once more to open the forsaken door. It wouldn't budge, and Obi-Wan shook his head at his apprentice. Anakin did manage to call back his lightsaber when he knew what to focus on, but the door refused to melt fast enough under the heat. Obi-Wan raced toward his Padawan to knock the lightsaber out of his hands. If his Padawan wished to learn the hard way, so be it.

"I don't what they're going to do to him, Anakin, and neither do you. You still have much to learn," Obi-Wan said forcefully as he backed Anakin towards a wall with his lit lightsaber. "Don't make me do something I don't want to do," Obi-Wan pleaded as he locked the shields around the doors. There was no way anyone was getting in or out of the hallway, and he had no intentions of hurting his Jedi Padawan. If only Anakin were a little more understanding.

"I'm sorry, Master, but I will do what I must," Anakin replied in resignation as he forced his own lightsaber past Obi-Wan's barriers. Obi-Wan was determined to keep him in this room to detain him from the Jedi, and if Obi-Wan was standing in his way, Obi-Wan would be removed. "I trusted you, but I can see the corruption of the Jedi has blinded you to the truth," Anakin stated with barely restrained anger as he brought his lightsaber in a downward arc.

Obi-Wan blocked the blow with ease as Anakin stepped away from the wall. He could feel emotions rolling off Anakin in waves, and a tint of yellow ringed Anakin's once blue eyes. The starburst of color was alarming in more than one way, and Obi-Wan could barely hold back a tidal wave of his own emotions. "Control your anger, Anakin. I won't lose you to the Dark Side!" Obi-Wan exclaimed as he tried to block out the fear gripping his heart.

"You mean you don't want another failure added to your near-perfect record," Anakin spat bitterly as he spun toward the window sill. The wind had picked up outside and clouds covered the stars. Light was gone from the outskirts of Coruscant, and Anakin lashed out against his master. Air escaped from between his teeth as Obi-Wan singed the edge of his Jedi robes without taking damage himself.

"You are a Jedi, Anakin. You know we aren't perfect, and you know me better than anyone. If you turn to the Dark Side, I haven't failed the Jedi Council; I'd have failed you," Obi-Wan responded hoarsely as he stepped onto the ledge. He twisted to block Anakin's blade, but his own lightsaber turned toward the cracks in the window. The glass shattered and the wind nearly carried them both off to an untimely end on the ground far below. It would not be another happy landing.

"You have never failed me, Master, but you could never understand what I'm going through right now. I don't think anyone on the Jedi Council understands," Anakin mused as he tipped sideways with the wind. Obi-Wan barely missed Anakin's blade as he leapt forward to push his apprentice off the ledge. They both fell in a messy heap on the marble floor, and Anakin wrestled to get out from underneath Obi-Wan.

"We would if you would just tell us!" Obi-Wan said in exasperation as he deactivated his lightsaber. He let Anakin rise with weapon still lit, and he barely flinched when the tip of the lightsaber burned the collar of his Jedi robes. Anakin would have to learn to make his own mistakes, but now was not the time to be temperamental. He had to show Anakin he still trusted his Padawan, and he would offer his life to prove it.

"Padmé could die if you kill him! I need him," Anakin finished as his shoulders started to shake. He didn't know where the overwhelming feeling of collapsing was coming from, but the mental breakdown was bearing hard on his shields. Anakin felt as he had already lost Padmé, and he didn't know where the feelings were spawning from. Padmé was not injured, and she would certainly tell him if she were fatally ill. Maybe she was in danger from the Jedi, but even that didn't feel right.

"What does Senator Amidala have to do with anything?" Obi-Wan asked in disbelief as Anakin deactivated his lightsaber. Both men were breathing hard as Anakin dropped to his knees. The darkness had come to claim him, and he didn't know if he could fight it back any longer. The yellow in his eyes was growing and anger swelled in his heart. Obi-Wan was keeping his beloved from him, just as he was keeping Palpatine from his grasp.

"Help me, Obi-Wan," Anakin managed to ask before his face twisted in an angry snarl. A few of his fingernails broke on the floor to leave angry red scratches on his hand as he pounded at the marble. He glared at his master as he grabbed for his weapon once more. Obi-Wan backed up a few paces, but he realized his mistake too late as Anakin received the room he needed ignite his lightsaber close to Obi-Wan's heart.

"Open the doors," Anakin growled as he stalked forward. His cloak twisted behind him, and the wind blew a few locks of his hair in his face. He could hear clones blasting away on the door outside, but his battle was here and now with his master. Obi-Wan would pay if Padmé died, just as he would pay if the Jedi managed to slip a lightsaber into Palpatine. Of course, Palpatine was more powerful than most of the Jedi combined, but if Yoda and Mace Windu had been sent together…

"You know I can't do that," Obi-Wan answered as he raised his lightsaber. Anakin hadn't turned completely, and Obi-Wan could still feel the good residing in his Padawan, but it was hidden from his sight. Anakin's shields were being held together by an unknown power deep within Anakin's mind. Anakin threw Obi-Wan across the room with the wave of his hand as soon as he felt his master attempt to scan the outskirts of his mind. How dare Obi-Wan try to invade his thoughts!

"And why can't you? Are you afraid of the power Palpatine can give me? I will be the most powerful of all the Jedi, and there's nothing you can do to stop me," Anakin said dangerously as he feinted left. Obi-Wan barely caught the blade as Anakin forced him back toward the entrance they came in. He caught Anakin's blade at a cross stance, and the power moved between the two Jedi in severe undercurrents.

Obi-Wan tried to reach Anakin through their training bond, but the link between them had shattered. Anakin had unknowingly severed the link, and Obi-Wan wanted to weep in grief. He had lost his master on the verge of becoming a Jedi Knight, and now he would lose his only Padawan when he was so close to redeeming himself for losing Qui-Gon. He had to somehow reach his battle worn apprentice. Anakin had become a son to him, and he would not lose the only other person he had grown to care for.

The Force crackled around them, and exhaustion was thrown away as Obi-Wan reached blinded into the energy stream. He tried to throw Anakin across the room, but Anakin had the same idea. The power melded between their two hands, but it refused to be pressurized under the heat. Anakin and Obi-Wan were both thrown backwards, but Anakin was much closer to the ledge than he originally thought. He used the Force to push himself down, but it was almost too late.

Glass cut into his fingers as he grasped the ledge with one hand. His lightsaber clattered to the city streets below, and Anakin could almost hear the sound of Obi-Wan's scolding in the murky depths of his mind. He brought his right hand to the ledge, but too much glass littered the edge, and his metallic hand slip on the concrete. He considered calling for his master, but Obi-Wan had already endured too much to help his Padawan at the moment. Anakin was on his own for the time being, and he wasn't sure he could hold on much longer.

Obi-Wan was in a bit of a predicament. He flew through the air for several seconds before slamming into the wall on the far side. "Well, this is great," He muttered sarcastically as he felt the trickle of blood slide down his cheekbone. The stone behind his head suddenly didn't feel like stone; on the contrary, it felt as soft as a feather pillow. Unfortunately, sleep would have to be evaded for the moment as he tried to stand.

The world spun around Obi-Wan as he rose to his knees, and the lightsaber clattered from his hand. He felt dizzy and sick at the same time, and the great Obi-Wan Kenobi was rarely felled by illness. "Anakin?" he called out hesitantly as the room slid out of focus. His Padawan would have said something by now, and Obi-Wan couldn't even make out a silhouette of his apprentice. Silence met his ears, so he tried once more. "Anakin!" he called out louder, his voice still hoarse from the battle.

Obi-Wan could hear a small "Master?" before he lost control of his consciousness. Blackness descended upon him, and doors banging open was the last thing he heard before the clones stormed into the room. He only hoped Anakin would alright, and he had lived long enough to not care about his own life. His only regret was that he would not be able to see his Padawan grow into a fully fledged Jedi Knight.

Luke Skywalker could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins the moment he left the Jedi Temple. Something felt wrong about him leaving, but he was needed on the other side of Coruscant. If anything happened to the Jedi at the Temple, he wouold never forgive himself, but this was something he had to do. The airspeeder hummed to life beneath him, and he took a shaky breath before giving one last glance to the Temple. He shouldn't have looked back.

He rarely received visions of the future anymore, especially not since coming to the past. Because he wasn't used to their severity, the image choked his mind, and he nearly ran into the back of another speeder. The man cursed him, but he couldn't hear anything of the outside world. His mind was focused solely on the vision of the Temple burning in the night. Smoke rose high into the clouds, and screams were snuffed out viciously.

Clones, no, _Stormtroopers _led the way into the Temple as Jedi were cut down left and right. Luke scrunched his face up in pain as he tried to block the images from his mind. He couldn't see Leia, Han, or Chewie is his vision, but he wasn't sure he wanted to. Yoda would get them out of the Temple when it became necessary, but what of the other Jedi? The carnage was also fueled by bodies of the dead clones, but they seemed deadlocked in battle. Would the Jedi have to make another desperate last stand?

He was now torn between three choices, but he knew what the right one was. He gunned his airspeeder down to the traffic below as he headed further into Coruscant. Airspeeders dodged left and right to avoid him as he weaved his way through the vehicles. The sight of a familiar building drove him further until he reached his destination. A small stream of smoke rose from the cockpit of the 'speeder, but he ignored the damage he had done.

Something was out of place, and he had to reach them before it was too late. The hallways of the Intergalactic Senate raced by him as he concentrated on his target. Obi-Wan was losing consciousness fast, and trouble was heading his way. Were the clones already here? Luke grasped the Force as he lit his lightsaber. If he had to cut his way through the clones, he would cut his way through the clones.

The white uniforms swarmed around them, and Luke could only push half of them back as he locked the doors. He didn't see his father at first as he charged headfirst into the room. Thinking before acting had become an almost acquired skill of Jedi, but Luke never had the time to learn the techniques. Anything white fell around him, and Luke winced as several blaster shots got past his lightsaber. Nothing major was damaged, but Luke had hoped for another month before he had to treat anymore blaster wounds.

Obi-Wan crumbled in an ungraceful heap in the corner to the left, and Luke panicked as he looked around him. There was nothing but the Force he could use to jolt the master, assuming he wasn't dead. He winced as he picked a few strands of the Force to lift his former master a few feet off the ground. Obi-Wan let out a small cry of pain as he was rudely shaken back into consciousness by the young Jedi. The short drop probably jarred his brain.

"What's happening?" Obi-Wan muttered as he rubbed his throbbing head. No amount of healing meditation would get rid of the incessant pounding in his skull. He groaned as he successfully managed to sit up against the wall. His vision came into focus sharply, and he was forced to close his eyes against the bright lights. He wasn't drunk was he? Obi-Wan wondered as he tried to stand up. Luke helped him by putting his arm around his shoulder.

"Where's Anakin?" Luke asked in a rush. The clones would be back any second, and he couldn't hold the doors shut for much longer. He needed to keep his Force sensibility down to a minimum for a short while in case he needed to try to heal something. The burn marks on his arms stung, but Obi-Wan needed much more help than he did at the second. He could still defend himself against an onslaught if he had to.

"I don't know. We were fighting, but the last thing I remember was a blur of white shapes," Obi-Wan grasped at his memory as he tried to remember everything that happened. He couldn't remember which direction Anakin had gone in, and he couldn't remember where they were. Something about a fight sounded right to his ears, but he couldn't pinpoint any of the details. Why were he and Anakin fighting? Not even a large disagreement would cause him to attack his Padawan.

"Father! Anakin!" Luke yelled out as he left Obi-Wan's side. He either didn't know or didn't care about Obi-Wan overhearing Luke's relationship to Anakin Skywalker because he went frantically over to the window ledge. During his race to the crowded hallway, he had knocked over several of the clones. Apparently, he had thrown several off the window sill in his attempt to find either Obi-Wan or Anakin.

"I'm over here!" Anakin yelled back as he felt the muscles in his arms straining. His mechanical hand shone in the darkness and he clutched his prosthetic limb. As selfish as it seemed at the moment, he didn't want Luke to find out about his arm. He tried to bury his hand in his cloak to no avail. In his moment of panic, the yellow from his eyes faded and darkness receded as Anakin had automatically reached for Obi-Wan instead of the darkness.

_The Dark Side will give you power, _a voice whispered in the back of his mind. He groaned as he tried to block out the voice. _No!_ his mind screamed back at the whispers as he slammed the darkness out of his mind. Obi-Wan was holding him back, but he couldn't give in to temptation for more strength. As he tethered on the edge of death, he realized how close he had come to turning on everything he had ever fought for.

"Give me your hand!" Luke commanded as Anakin's fingers began to slip. Seeing his father hanging on for life frightened him more than it should have, but he had already lost his father twice, and he would not lose him again. The first time he had lost his father was to the Dark Side with almost no hope of coming back. The second time he had lost Anakin was to death itself, and Luke would not let him go this time.

Anakin struggled internally as he resisted giving Luke his mechanical hand. The young Jedi probably had never seen death to someone he knew before, and his face was almost innocent in its frightened state. Anakin heaved his right up toward Luke, and he used the momentum to push himself forward into the building. Anakin collapsed on top of Luke, and Luke's air was forced out of him by his father's heavy form.

"You could have left me there," Anakin whispered in shame as he rolled off Luke. He didn't know how much of the battle Luke had seen, but he probably hadn't seen enough to judge him. Anakin had thought only of Palpatine, his mentor and friend in the politician world. In his anger, he had nearly killed Obi-Wan, one of the few people he didn't think he could lose. Obi-Wan meant everything to him, and he had nearly thrown away all the training he had received.

"What are you talking about?" Luke asked as a flummoxed expression crossed his face. What had his father done now? As long as he hadn't destroyed any lives of the Jedi, he was still alright with Luke. He breathed heavily as air filled his lungs once more. He must have gotten his small frame from his mother because Anakin was huge in comparison. Yes, mother must have been quite smaller in stature.

Anakin's shoulders sagged in defeat. He was about to open his mouth in reply, but Obi-Wan cut him off. "I don't blame you for your actions, Anakin. I'm a little disappointed in you, but I'm also very proud. You fought back, Anakin, and you fought back very well. You will make a great Jedi Knight, and I will be proud to serve the Light Side with you as my brother," Obi-Wan said as he bent down to clasp Anakin on the shoulder. His memory was still a bit hazy, but Obi-Wan remembered the gist what happened.

Anakin's ears tinged red, and he stared down at the ground. "I succumbed to it, Master. I fell into the Dark Side, and I didn't even put up much of a fight. It wasn't until after we nearly killed each other that I realized what I had done," Anakin whispered as Luke moved to stand beside Anakin. He put his arm around Anakin and picked him up off the floor. He struggled under his father's weight, but his training with Yoda hadn't been for nothing.

"Yes, you did, but you came back. Instead of letting the Dark Side keep you, you escaped its grasp much, much faster this time," Luke said with a small laugh. He was proud of his father, even if his father wasn't proud of himself. He hadn't been trying to save Luke this time; he did it to save Obi-Wan. Luke wouldn't have had it any other way. Anakin might be confused about what happened to him, but in time, he would figure it out.

"Are you really my son?" Anakin whispered as he swayed slightly on his feet. He hadn't been able to grasp the concept of having a son until now, and the feeling filled him deeply. He realized another attachment would probably get him killed one day, but he no longer cared. If he had to leave the Jedi Order to be with his family, it would all be worth it. He could live with the decision if it came to that.

"Yeah, I am, but my venture to the Dark Side was a bit shorter than yours," Luke replied softly as he moved to embrace Obi-Wan. He had almost lost both his father and his former master in a battle for power. Being in the Alliance had taught him exactly how often people were lost to the world. "Sith, I have a son," Anakin breathed behind him. Obi-Wan turned a disapproving glance on his Padawan, and Anakin shrugged helplessly. Luke smothered a laugh behind his hands.

"We can catch up on Anakin's failures later," Luke said more cheerfully as he moved behind Obi-Wan. "Hey!" Anakin sputtered indignantly. He didn't need both his master and his son teasing him mercilessly! One of them was enough. Luke silenced him with a look.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Luke asked thoughtfully as he listened for the blaster shots on the door. The clones were trying, and failing to get into the room, but it wouldn't be long before they figured out he had only blocked one door. He wasn't strong enough at the moment to shield both of them, and nothing was stopping the clones from coming in through the blown out windows. Obi-Wan rubbed his temple, and Anakin shook his head.

"Where did all the damage in here come from?" Luke asked as he studied the broken glass littering the floor. "Surely the Stormtroopers couldn't have done all this themselves," Luke continued as he frowned. Obi-Wan and Anakin shared a glance before Anakin turned to Luke. "Stormtroopers?" he asked curiously as he efficiently avoided the subject. He was still a little edgy about the topic.

"Long story," Luke murmured. "Damage?" he tried again. They wouldn't be escaping his questions that easily. Anakin mocked him, "Long story." Luke rolled his eyes at Anakin's grin. At least they had a few things in common. "Will one of you explain why Luke keeps you calling you father?" Obi-Wan asked in a clueless manner.

Agen Kolar's day was going steeply downhill. An emergency Council meeting was called that morning to discuss the ever growing threat to the Jedi Order, and it had been one of the shortest meetings they ever had. Chancellor Palpatine was proclaimed the Sith Lord, and as ridiculous as it sounded at the time, it made sense. Palpatine had boosted himself into a position of power, and only a direct threat on the Chancellor's life could loosen his grip on the Senate.

Usually during the Council meetings, Agen listened to both Yoda and Mace Windu as they voiced their opinions over the matter. Apparently, there was nothing to discuss. Yoda was going to Kashyyyk at a critical point in the war while Mace Windu, Kit Fitso, Saesee Tin, and himself were going after Palpatine. Ki Adi Mundi was the next strongest of the Jedi, but he was offworld at the moment on a mission.

Perhaps Yoda sensed something he couldn't. He also didn't know why they wouldn't send Obi-Wan Kenobi after Palpatine. Mace Windu could probably defeat a Sith Lord on his own, but Obi-Wan would provide the most help to the master. Agen was one of the few Jedi who stood a fighting chance against a Sith Lord, but he wasn't the best or first choice for a fighter. After all, he was only a teacher at the Temple.

The room they were about to enter was eerily silent as they approached the looming door. Saesee opened the door quietly as Mace Windu strode into the room with his violet lightsaber lit. Agen followed the Jedi Master's lead, but he couldn't help the face of dread that rose in his throat. Had Master Yoda sensed the outcome of the battle? Agen carefully masked his face as he stood before Palpatine. His green lightsaber shone in the darkness, and shadows were cast about.

"Master Windu," Palpatine said delightfully as he placed his hands on the desk. He was hoping the Jedi would wait a little while longer to figure out his plans, but all was happening as he wished. Young Skywalker would be his apprentice soon enough, and the universe would be short a few Jedi. He sighed as he reached for the long range communication device under his desk. He couldn't help but smile as Mace Windu stalked forward.

"You are under arrest, Chancellor," Mace Windu stated calmly. He frowned as he watched Palpatine's hand drum across the desk. The Sith Lord was up to something, and he didn't know how right he was. Palpatine was grinning manically, and that could only mean one thing. Palpatine knew something they didn't, and they would soon pay the price for their ignorance. Mace Windu moved closer to the Chancellor. "You will answer to the Senate," he added as an afterthought.

"I am the Senate," Palpatine growled as his face morphed into a twisted expression. He hit the long-range sensors as hard as he could. "Carry out Order Sixty-Six!" He said as he stood before the Jedi. His lightsaber fell into his hands, and he lit the magnificent ruby blade. He poured his anger and frustration into the weapon as he watched the Jedi. They would never reach the other Jedi in time; he would make sure of it personally.

He lunged forward at the Jedi, and Saesee Tin fell with a small cry. The red blade had twisted in his large frame before he even had the chance to raise his own weapon in defense. Agen clutched his lightsaber harder as he prepared to face the Sith Master. He felt the loss of Saesee almost immediately as the Force hummed in the room. He was glad Saesee had become one with the Force, but he also felt betrayed that they had been cast out like sacrifices.

He managed to block the Sith Master's blade as he dueled beside Master Windu. He would give his life to the Jedi Order, but he would not go down without honor. He swiped at the Sith's leg, but Palpatine was faster. The Chancellor parried his blade and brought the green blade around to slice Kit Fitso. "No!" ripped from Agen's throat as he watched his long-time friend fall to the ground. "Why?" Kit whispered as Agen's green blade slipped out of him. The Force was a firestorm around them, and Kit was lost to it.

Agen swung his blade in a renewed fervor as desperation coursed through him. The Sith Master was defeating them even though they faced him four to one. Agen never saw the red blade coming as he felt heat and pain melt into one. The Force sung to him, and he answered its calling. The only regret he had was he wouldn't live to see the next regime of the Jedi Order. The blade clattered from his hand onto the floor.

"What Order did you give?" Mace Windu asked as he was pushed back from the room. He felt the loss of the Jedi as sure as Agen Kolar had, but he would not let their sacrifices be in vain. He suspected the outcome of Palpatine's Order to whomever it was, but he would not let it effect his mission. The Sith must be defeated at all costs, and he was determined to destroy Palpatine once and for all.

"You mean you don't know?" Palpatine mocked as he strode around the Jedi. Mace Windu watched him with careful eyes as he lowered his blade slightly. "You once told me you sensed a plot to destroy the Jedi. What you didn't know at the time was that I had more control over the Clone Army than you did," Palpatine replied as he circled the Jedi once more. He was waiting for the opportune moment, and he would not be disappointed.

"No," Mace Windu whispered as he backed towards the window. "You couldn't," he denied as he felt the desk behind his legs. Palpatine laughed as he leaned forward slightly. "I could, and I did," Palpatine whispered as the Force exploded around him. Screams blocked his vision temporarily, and it was all the time Palpatine needed. "Goodbye, Master Jedi," he said as he plunged his ruby blade into Mace Windu.

Author's Notes: Don't you guys just love my cliffhangers? Hehe, if you're interested, I do believe Tyson Foxflame opened a pitchfork store recently… Oh, and this would have been a very short story if I had killed Palpatine off so soon. sighs My characters go through so much.

Jedi Takeru insisted I put this line into the chapter.


	7. Chapter 6: Where Loyalties Lie

Author's Notes: Well, I've finished a good deal of my summer assignments, and I'm now full swing in a scholarship. My updates shouldn't slow down though until August 29th when school starts back up. You can expect at least two more updates until then.

Changing History: Where Loyalties Lie

Mace Windu could feel the lightsaber twist inside him, and the red blade burned the tissue within him. Any normal man would have been dead in an instant, but Mace Windu was not a normal man. Mace Windu was a Vaapad who had a reverence for all life, even Palpatine's. The lightsaber blade didn't hurt as much as the screaming voices, and perhaps Palpatine realized this. He might as well have.

Palpatine removed his lightsaber from Mace, and the Jedi fell to the ground with his hand clasped to his chest. The Sith Master recalled his ruby blade as he watched the Jedi cautiously. He wouldn't kill the Jedi, not today, but he didn't want Mace to come rushing after him later either. He wanted Mace to suffer for the loss of his apprentice because no other Jedi was in his reach. Anakin would pay dearly for his betrayal, but Mace would be the first to pay his price.

Palpatine gave Mace one last good kick before he raced out of the room. He would have to act quickly in order to control the Senate, and many rebellions would have to be squashed immediately. He had his suspicions about many of the planets close to the Outer Rim, Alderaan among them. He would also need Senator Amidala if he wanted to exact his revenge on Anakin in a most efficient manner.

"Lieutenant Kyle, I need to send a vid message to Naboo immediately," Palpatine ordered as he shut the door behind him. His office was a wreck, but he was more concerned about the bodies littering the floor. He needed to have the place cleaned of the Jedi stench as soon as possible. "And Lieutenant, please had Rosemerta come to clean my office. I believe I had a small infestation problem," he added as an afterthought.

"Right away, sir," the Lieutenant answered as he moved away from the Chancellor. Although as loyal as most other clones, Kyle didn't agree with many of the leader's ways. The Jedi weren't evil, and even though they were forced to follow protocol, he wished he could someway help the Jedi. He would follow the Chancellor's orders, but it didn't mean he had to do so exactly the way the Chancellor wanted it to be done.

Kyle grimaced behind his mask as he stepped into the Chancellor's office. Three Jedi had been cut down viciously by the Sith Lord, and their bodies were mangled in gruesome ways. Kyle gently moved Agen Kolar next to the other Jedi so he could step into the room. Agen didn't groan in pain as he had wished, and his spirit was as broken as his body. No signs of life remained in any of the Jedi near him.

Kyle stepped into the room, and the sight that met his eyes was no better than the front door. Part of the Chancellor's desk had been ripped in half, and papers covered the ground. Fortunately, the Jedi's wounds had been cauterized by the lightsaber, so Kyle had been spared the sight of bloodshed on the floor. The window had burst, and glass covered everything from the chairs to the desk. It crunched under his boots as he looked for the final Jedi.

After seeing the other Jedi, he half-expected to find the Master in worse shape than the other three. In a way, he was right. Mace Windu was propped up against the desk in the adjacent room with blood dripping down the side of his face. His lightsaber had rolled away from him under the desk, and Kyle was thankful the Sith had not taken the weapon as a trophy. The Sith were known to keep collections of souvenirs from the people they killed.

Kyle feared the worst until Mace's fingers twitched close to his chest. The Lieutenant quickly moved Mace into a more upright position, and the Jedi coughed for a good five minutes. "Are you alright, Master Jedi?" Kyle asked as he pried the Master's hands away from his chest. Palpatine's lightsaber had struck low and to the side, so nothing fatal had been pierced. Kyle sighed in relief before he realized the seriousness of the situation.

"Alright wouldn't be the word I would use," Mace answered as his coughed harshly. The feeling burned in his throat, and his side was stinging severely. He wouldn't be surprised is there was a hole where one of his kidneys used to be for the sensation was a very odd one. He needed to reach the medibay immediately if there was still a medibay. He studied the clone ahead of him cautiously.

"Are you the Chancellor's personal clone?" he asked as he tried to stand. The floor swayed beneath him roughly, and he had to grab the edge of the desk to keep from falling. The clone supported him as glass bit into his hands. He could no longer feel the pain as much, and the Force would sustain his wounds until he had medical support. One of the few things people knew about him was that he had failed his medical classes miserably, and he became a Jedi Knight henceforth.

"Yes," Kyle admitted. "The Chancellor ordered me to have his room cleared, but he never said you would be alive. How did you survive his attack?" The clone asked curiously as they made their way passed the other Jedi. He was trying to distract Mace from the demise of the other Jedi, and he wasn't sure exactly how good of a job he was doing. The Vaapad Master seemed to accept their deaths impassively, but every living being was touched by death in some form or another.

"When a lightsaber goes through a person, the pain is usually so great, they will let go of their physical body to become one with the Force. Death is usually immediate for the person, but in rare cases, Jedi have survived a lightsaber attack they were injured. Unfortunately, in those rare cases, the Jedi usually died later of infection. I survived only because my will to live was stronger than Palpatine's wish to kill me," Mace answered with a grimace as they made it out of the Chancellor's conference room.

"Do you think he might have let you survive?" Kyle asked curiously as he leaned Mace up against the door. Whether he wanted to or not, he still had to carry out Palpatine's other orders. If a clone didn't follow the orders of the prescriber, the clone would self-destruct in a matter of hours. It was a built-in failsafe the Kaminos decided to add, so their products would be of high quality.

"It would be sadistic of him," Mace answered quietly as he leaned heavily against the wall. He didn't know why they were stopping, but if the clone was going to put him out of his misery, he might as well do so quickly. "Do you have any news of the other Jedi?" Mace asked suddenly as the pain became a second priority. He couldn't believe he had forgotten the other Jedi so fervently. As a Jedi, he always put others before himself.

"We were ordered to kill any Jedi we came across," the clone admonished sadly. "Fortunately, I was off duty at the time, but by the time I came back on, it was too late to help you. I'm sorry I could not save the other Jedi you were with, and my duty is to the democracy I was assigned to," the clone whispered in his mechanical voice. He could not take his helmet off yet, and they were far from the clear.

"You were given another order," Mace observed as he studied the lieutenant. When the clone went to answer, Mace raised his hand. "You must do your duty as I must do mine. I understand, but I hope you can confide in me what Palpatine will have you do," Mace added as another jolt of pain went through his side. He blocked out the Force for the moment because time was everything, and attachment to the other Jedi would only slow them down.

Kyle nodded as he made his way back into the office. It was not wise to leave an injured Jedi to defend himself in the corridor, but no other options were given to him. His loyalties were to the Republic, and he would do everything he could to protect the people Palpatine targeted. Senator Amidala's face came onscreen as he dialed her private line. She would recognize the clone immediately, and as intelligent as she was, she would understand the seriousness of the situation.

"Lieutenant Kyle, what can I do for you?" Padme asked, her voice as crisp as always. Kyle found it usually pleasant to talk to the Senator, and her voice had inspired him to go rogue. He was an inside source for her 'gathering,' and whereas they didn't trust his word, they did trust the truth behind many of Palpatine's plans. Unfortunately, Palpatine had sworn him to secrecy about Anakin, and he couldn't let on to Padme.

"Chancellor has ordered your return to the Senate immediately. He has official news he wishes for the Senator of Naboo to hear, and you need to be in the Senate for its outcome," Kyle responded as to the point as he could. There was no small talk between the 'gathering,' and any pleasantries were usually code for something much larger. Kyle didn't have time to disguise his voice, but he knew she would come as soon as she could.

"I will be there immediately," she answered just as smoothly. As a politician, no emotion was shown in her face, and only her eyes betrayed her thoughts. Her relaxed pose was too relaxed, and Kyle could scent a hint of fear from her. Whether it was for herself or for Anakin, he didn't know, but she quickly hid her thoughts from the unwavering clone. "Is there something else?" she asked politely as she arched an eyebrow at him.

"Please, be careful milady," Kyle added as he pressed for safety. Padme pursed her lips for a moment before nodding. He could tell she didn't know whether to trust his concern or not, but tried to make it as genuine as possible. Palpatine's plans included her demise, and even though he couldn't convey that to her, he could make sure she was careful. Her face flickered out from the screen, and he cut the transmission abruptly.

"Rosemerta, the Chancellor would like you to fix the damage done in his office. It would be most appreciated to have the Jedi delivered back to the Temple," the clone ordered over a new transmission. By the time the Chancellor knew there was a gap in the time he gave the orders and when they were carried out, they would be safely back in the Temple's comfort. He hoped they weren't too late.

"What did you do?" Mace asked as the clone reemerged from the room. He couldn't help but stay suspicious at clone, even though he knew the clone couldn't help it. Mace winced as he tried to put more weight on the side without the injuries, but the muscles screamed as they were stretched. A light sweat had broken out on his brow, and he limped as he walked forward with the clone's aid.

"I had to order the Senator from Naboo back to Coruscant immediately. I also had your friends moved to the Temple," Kyle answered without expression. Now was not the time to let emotion rule his judgment. He had officially gone rogue, but he had not escaped the Chancellor's grasp. If he was not careful, the Chancellor could order him to turn on the Jedi at any point.

"What does Senator Amidala have to do with any of this? And thank you for having them sent where they can have a proper ceremony," Mace Windu said as another coughing spell hit him. He was sick, and the infection was starting to spread inside him. He would become another victim to death soon enough if they didn't make it back to the Temple in time. He sighed in relief as they moved inside an elevator. The doors closed around them, and gravity began to pull them down.

"I think you need Anakin Skywalker for this conversation. He could explain the situation far better than I ever could," Kyle admitted as he fingered his weapon. He was holding security in his hands, and many of the clones would suspect him as soon as they left the elevator shaft. "Put your hands behind you back," Kyle ordered lightly as he looked at his companion. They would question why he had a live Jedi with him, and deception wasn't one of his strongest points.

"What does Anakin have to do with this?" Mace asked in concern. The Chosen One had to be defended at all costs, and he suspected Anakin wasn't one of the Jedi the Chancellor sent clones after. He didn't know why it was there, but he had an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. He placed his hands behind his back, and the clone placed restraining cuffs on his wrists lightly. If they had to run, there would be a few complications.

"He had everything to do with it, but as I said, you need to ask him. I've been sworn to secrecy by the Chancellor," the clone said with a small wince. A pressure was building in the back of his cerebellum, and he could feel the device digging into his skull. He had said too much, or he was in the process of saying too much. Well, if he was going to sacrifice himself, at least it was to a good cause.

"Here we go," Mace murmured under his breath as the elevator came to an abrupt stop. The doors opened to reveal swarms of clones milling about on station. Mace caught his breath as many of the sentient beings notice them immediately with their guns raised. He couldn't do much in way of defense without his lightsaber, and his hands itched for his weapon strapped to Kyle's belt.

A small squadron of troops approached the elevator as they stepped out of the contraption. "Where are you taking this Jedi?" Commander Cody asked as he peered at the Jedi. All of the Jedi had been ordered for termination, and no special Jedi were slipping through his grasp. The only person he couldn't kill was Anakin Skywalker, and Skywalker was somewhere floors above them. The Chancellor wanted to take care of Skywalker personally.

"Jedi Master Mace Windu was ordered for immediate transport to the Jedi Temple. He has been both unarmed and detained for the moment. As you know, sir, I am Chancellor Palpatine's personal clone, and the Chancellor wanted this Jedi to receive a much harsher treatment than the others. He is to slow die of infection from the Chancellor's lightsaber, unlike the Jedi who suffered a quick, painless death," Lieutenant Kyle stated as quickly and sincerely as possible. He needed one of those shuttles, and he needed it now. They would double-check with the Chancellor as soon as he left, and he didn't want to be here for the Sith's wrath.

Commander Cody didn't look as if he was in any hurry to let them leave, so Mace decided it was high time for him to intervene. "You will let us pass," he grated out with a touch of the Force. Voices presses down on his essence, but the deaths were coming in less and less now. The Jedi were finding news way to fight back against the clones, and their leader was incompetent in working against Jedi.

"I will let you pass," the clone murmured mindlessly as a bead of sweat dripped down Mace's chin. He shrugged off Kyle's look of concern, and urged him forward. He had managed to convince several of the clones in the immediate area they were allowed through, but he couldn't keep it up forever. He had used much of the Force in his fight against Palpatine, and his strength was waning.

"You must show me how to do that later," Kyle muttered with a touch of excitement. He had always loved watching the Jedi at work, and his independent thoughts had got him in trouble more times than he could count. He was picked as a personal guard to the Chancellor because he understood the Force a tiny but more than the other clones. Palpatine wanted someone who could think in individual situations, and he was definitely the clone for the job.

Mace smiled slightly as he entered the JXC-454. The airspeeder was an older model, but it would suit their needs nicely. The Chancellor wouldn't miss one of his nicer aircrafts, and they would escape almost unnoticed. The clones would be confused about know where they went, but the Chancellor wouldn't be able to follow them later. If anything, the Chancellor would most likely let them go. He couldn't do much else besides wait to see what would happen.

The engine hummed to life, and they lifted off the ground with less grace than he was used to. Mace watched with a critical eye from the passenger's seat as Kyle fire up the controls. The heat from the engines was overheated, and Kyle expertly began the coolants as they made their way into the streets of Coruscant. He didn't how no one seemed to notice the destruction of the building from the outside, but nothing seemed out of place. Mace frowned at the look of a few windows floors above, but it shrugged it off as being the windows Palpatine had destroyed during their battle.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was a very confused Jedi. One minute, Anakin was trying to kill him. The next minute, he was acting like a long, lost relative to Luke. Was it just his bad luck that attracted the Dark Side to Anakin? Luke was attempting to sputter out a nice little response to his question while Anakin was looking suspiciously sheepish. "Well, spit it out already!" He said in exasperation. He just wanted to why Luke was calling Anakin father.

"Well, um, you see, we really don't have time for this right now!" Luke squeaked out as he looked to Anakin for help. The other Jedi shrugged and backed towards the window hurriedly. There were more important things to be worrying about than confessing to Obi-Wan his rebellion against the Jedi Code. Obi-Wan was giving him another disapproving glance, and he smiled nervously at his master.

"Anakin, what did you do?" Obi-Wan asked his apprentice as he stalked forward. Anakin looked over to Luke for help, but Luke shrugged innocently. If his father wasn't going to help him with an explanation, he wasn't going to help his father with an explanation. Anakin got himself into the mess, and he could get himself out of it. Besides, it wasn't his job to deal with his father's secret marriages and secret children. It only affected his life so much after all.

"Don't we have other things to worry about right now?" Anakin asked as he looked across the horizon into the vast expanse of darkness. He was only trying to divert Obi-Wan's attention, but he couldn't help but be right. They had clones ready to storm into the room, and they had almost no way out. It wasn't like they could just jump out the window onto one of the speeders. None of the aircraft was close enough to catch a hold of.

"We will talk about this later, my troublesome Padawan," Obi-Wan stated forcefully as he looked Anakin straight in the eye. Contrary to Anakin's belief, he didn't like scolding him. Unfortunately for Obi-Wan, it seemed to be a fulltime job to look after his wayward apprentice. "Do either one of you have any idea how we're getting out of here?" Obi-Wan asked as one of doors splintered from the outside.

"I wish we could fly out of here," Anakin muttered. Obi-Wan glanced at Anakin, and he shrugged helplessly. He didn't want to go joyriding, but flying did seem the fastest and most efficient way of leaving the scene. They couldn't grow through the squadrons of clones without being hit; the newer models had adapted to several of the Jedi techniques. He even trained against Commander Cody on occasion.

Luke studied the expanse below them thoughtfully for a few moments. Anakin had a very good point, even if Obi-Wan didn't agree with him. "How many floors down is the hangar bay?" Luke asked as he bit his lip. His plan was too suicidal to work under normal circumstances, but they were desperate. Obi-Wan wanted a plan, and Obi-Wan would get a plan. He was running out of ideas fast.

"It's at least ten stories below us," Obi-Wan murmured as he studied the speeders flying passed. They had almost no chance of landing on one at the precise amount of time, but Luke was suggesting the hangar bay. They needed a distraction to dodge the clones outside the door, and they could only do so much. Luke looked exhausted from the battle station, and he was worried about Anakin's short trip to the Dark Side.

"How do you feel about free-fall?" Luke asked as he checked for the amount of wire he had on his grappling hook. He frowned as he realized they would only have one chance at this, and it was probably the most risky thing he would ever do in his life. It was strange, but he could imagine younglings doing something similar for a dash of an adrenaline rush. He would probably traumatize himself by doing it.

"Not very good, why?" Obi-Wan asked with a hint of nervousness. Anakin was the one meant to do these things, not him. He would admit it to anybody, but his nervousness around flying spawned from Anakin's joyrides through the city at night. He only tagged along for the ride to make sure Anakin didn't get himself killed. The ground looked so far below him, and he hoped Luke had at least achieved the rank of Master before trying a stunt like this.

"Well, we're going to be free-falling for at least seven stories. We're probably going to smash through a couple windows, missing the hangar bay entirely, and then we might be doing some running," Luke tried to explain as he replaced his grappling hook; he shared a silent of understanding with his father. Do you trust me? Anakin seemed to ask, and Luke nodded his consent. His father was the reckless one, but he trusted the not-so-future Vader with his life.

The door to the left exploded open, and Luke lost his concentration with the Force on the shields. He looked apologetic to Obi-Wan as he stepped toward the ledge. The wind was swirling around them, and a second's hesitation would cost them their lives. Luke took one look back at the clone before reaching the edge. He waited for his father as he gripped the window frame tightly.

Anakin looked down, and suddenly his addition to Luke's plan didn't seem so great. Blaster shots fired towards them, and Anakin waited a last second before grabbing Luke. He intentionally fell backwards off the ledge, and Luke grabbed onto Obi-Wan's cloak as they went. He quickly let go of the Jedi Master in favor of reaching for his grappling hook, but his mind raced as he realized he hadn't seen a similar mechanism on Anakin. Luke threw the hook blindly above him, and he wrapped his hand tighter around Anakin.

Luke's grappling hook caught, and he panicked as he saw Obi-Wan dangling a few stories above them. Obi-Wan's grappling had grasped a ledge, and instead of crashing through the hangar bay, he had bounced through a window above. As gravity didn't work that way, Luke couldn't stop to ask Obi-Wan if he was injured. Anakin swung into the hangar bay with Luke in tow, and they skid on their backs across the floor.

"We are going to get ourselves killed someday," Luke said breathlessly as they came to a stop. Anakin grinned back as he felt the adrenaline racing through him. The Force was crackling around them, and he couldn't bring himself to quench the thirst for power. Luke smacked him across the cheek as his eyes tinged in gold, and Anakin had to shake his head to rid his mind of unwanted thoughts.

"Thanks," Anakin whispered as he caught his breath. The Force was an elixir to him, a taste of living energy. It was singing in the marrow of his bones, and could felt a deep tingling in his stomach. He wanted to become the Force, the very thing that drove the power in him. He wanted to experience the ways of the Sith because it was a part of the Force he had never touched before, had never dreamed of reaching.

Clones had started to search the area for the disturbance they had caused, and Luke pulled Anakin behind one of the spacecrafts. He glanced around the small hangar bays, and his somewhat greedy eyes fixed on the several models of airspeeders. If only he had these in the backcountry of Tatooine! His fingers itched for the controls of one of the small aircrafts, and he was attracted to the sleek silver models of the JXC-675.

"Well, we can blast our way out of here, or we can fly out of here. I'm not sure the shields on an airspeeder are substantial enough to make it though," Anakin whispered as he hoisted his way into the cockpit. Luke dashed below the wingspan of a cruiser to hide from oncoming clones. He didn't have enough energy at the moment to trick the guards into thinking they were supposed to be there, and they needed all the time they could get. Clanging above him signaled Anakin was almost through.

Anakin switched a knob over as he slid down out of the cockpit. He shook his head in resignation. "Even if we could get passed the clones, they would have ion cannons trained on us in an instant. It's an ingenious failsafe, but we're going to get around their brilliancy," Anakin stated proudly as he fixed his eyes on something propped up in the corner. As he started toward the objects, Luke pulled Anakin back under the ship. Several guards passed, and they started forward together.

"Why would they have an ion cannon this close to the surface? Isn't it dangerous to everyone else who lives down here?" Luke whispered as his eyes caught on Anakin's prey. They were dust-covered at best and unusable at worst. The hoverboards were light, flimsy, and would provide them with no shields whatsoever. Luke was beginning to think his father had lost his mind entirely, but it would provide a simple way to reach Obi-Wan.

"Same reason they have ion cannons protecting the coal mines: experimentation," Anakin said in disapproval against one of the Chancellor's action. "Chancellor Palpatine wanted to know how much damage he could do within a small, enclosed space. Thus, he had a specialized shield added within a ten unit range of the Senate building," Anakin finished as he knocked off dust from the hoverboard. "How good are you at flying?"

"They experimented on the people here?" Luke asked in disgusted surprise. Innocent people didn't deserve this kind of treatment. "What is the experiment for?" he asked in morbid curiosity as he fastened the restraints to his boots. He wasn't sure this was the safest way to do things, but his father looked confident enough. "If it helps any, I got my flying skill from you."

Anakin could feel a small surge of pride rush through him at the thought. "Palpatine is having a new super weapon made in another galaxy, but he never told me the details," Anakin answered as he jumped on his hoverboard. The jets behind his feet came to life, and he grinned widely. The last time he had been on a hoverboard, Obi-Wan had confined him to his room for a week where all he was left with was meditation. The practices left him scarred for life, since he had only been eleven years old at the time.

"You knew all this, and you didn't tell the Jedi Council? Not even Obi-Wan?" Luke asked in mild surprise as he copied Anakin's actions. His engines sputtered to life, and he frowned at his 'board's fragile state. He didn't know if the machine would hold him. The flimsy material would surely burn out in traffic, and he wasn't feeling particularly suicidal today. He already had his brush with death when he came between Obi-Wan and Anakin earlier.

"The Jedi Council didn't exactly want me trained," Anakin said resolutely as he lifted into the air. The old hoverboard shook under his weight, but it held together. They only needed to reach Obi-Wan before the clones found him. Luke looked as if he wanted to protest to his methods, but his son (oh! _his_ son!) would have to trust him. Luke mirrored his movements, and they could hear the clones running towards them.

"You withheld information because the Council didn't want you trained? And I thought I held grudges," Luke muttered the last part just loud enough for Anakin to hear him. The clones were firing at them now, and Luke darted forward towards the shield. The flight became an obstacle course as they dodged clones and ships alike. He wasn't sure about the ion cannons on the outside, but maybe they were small enough to slip around the detectors.

"Can you break the shield?" Luke yelled over the noise as a beam nearly crashed down on top of him. The energy in the room was crackling, and the smallest spark would ignite it. Anakin flew ahead as he weaved through several of the clones. He threw his hand back to push several clones out of the way, but the distraction kept him the deactivator.

Anakin shook his head. "You'll have to blast it open!" He yelled as he skimmed the shield's surface. Hold on, Obi-Wan, he thought fiercely as Luke opened the blue shield with his blaster. The blast doors started to shut immediately, and Anakin grinned as he slipped through the cracks. He turned around to smile pleasingly at his son, but Luke wasn't behind him. He skid to a stop in midair.

Luke was shielded from him by both the blast doors and the Force.

Author's Notes: A cruel place to leave this chapter, but it was all I could do to keep from killing someone off. As a tiny warning, the next chapter will have no Anakin, Obi-Wan, or Mace Windu. Cookies to anyone who figures out what's in the next chapter. Ja ne, Insane Pineapple from Naboo.

Responses:

Jedi Takeru: Yes, I saved him temporarily. sighs Oh well, there are other characters I can kill off.

Maxennce: Palpatine a sneaky little creature. They were essential in it's destruction, and they'll be essential in its salvation. Unfortunately, Luke seems to be tied up at the moment. )

Blackheart Syaoran: I don't think he was completely feigning weakness, but I don't think Mace could have taken him either way. You'll find out what happens at the Jedi Temple soon enough.

Rinnalaiss: Why, thank you! I originally changed it to fit the mood of Changing History back in '02.

Redleef: LOL! You stumbled, unintentionally, onto one of my nicknames. I had a friend who used to call me Evil all the time. I'm glad you love cliffhangers; you'll be seeing them quite often. Note the cheerfulness.

Garowyn: I've been tied up for the moment in another project, but thank you for the criticism, and I'll be sure to fix those mistakes soon. I hope this chapter measures up to your expectations, and I'll be sure to write more soon.

Ani's Angel 15: Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about all the rest of my characters. However, because this story is similar to a crossover, I can only put so many characters in one chapter without rushing it. Besides, I didn't want to dangle Mace Windu's potential death in front of everyone.

Allyanna: Complicated they are, and complicated they will further be. What's a decent story without plot twists? )

Thanks also to: Fell Dragon, Crydwyn, Bobboky, Lunatic Pandora1, Myotismon13, Eriks leadinglady (Erik/Christine fan by chance?), and lovewildflower (when I get a chance, I'm going to rewrite Come Back to Me next.).


	8. Chapter 7: Political Wars

Author's Notes: I'm really sorry this took so long, but the balance between school and work has been extremely hectic. Not only that, but track starts up in another week here. Finally, I'm sorry if there are many errors in this chapter. I wrote the entire thing today, and I don't have time to check over it before I have to go to work tonight. The pace of this chapter is slower than some of my other ones, but if anything is confusing in it, let me know. I'm always like to go back and fix things (when I have the time.)

Changing History: Political Wars

The tiny hairs bristled under the cold as the ship touched down on the platform. Everything was silent, too silent, for the Senator of Nabob. Breath could be seen on the air, and her lips trembled against her smooth teeth. The captain rubbed his arms against his jacket, and he nodded to the lady. She seemed to ignore the gesture, but her intent was not to be discourteous. She felt something coming, something dark, and something evil.

"Senator Amidala, how is the family?" Bail Organa asked politely as he had eyes silently watch about. Their code words were well known throughout the friendship, but their alliance was not to go under the scrutiny of the Chancellor. He would always ask the same question, and he would always give the same answer. She kept her secrets, and he kept his, but they would always find common ground in the middle.

"The family is good, Senator. Sobé is doing especially well this season," she hinted cordially as she began her trek to the Senator's wing. Chancellor Palpatine insisted upon her attendance to the Senate immediately, and she would go. Bail Organa frowned behind her in thought. Sobé was not supposed to prosper until later point in time according to their code. Padmé trembled slightly, but her movements failed to capture Bail's attention.

"How is her pregnancy?" Bail tested lightly as he led Padmé aside. She cringed slightly, and he sighed in regret. He had been one of the few people she confided in when she married Anakin, and now they were all in trouble. He volunteered to help them through the times, but the times were getting darker. Palpatine had a plan up his rotting sleeve, and Bail wished the Chancellor could just find a place to rot. Unfortunately, Palpatine outlived both his term and rapid descend of the Republic.

"Her pregnancy is going well, but there are a few complications," Padmé admitted with a small sigh. She leaned heavily against the doorframe and glared up at the cameras fixated on them. She motioned to the video screens, and Bail nodded his head. He knew they were being watched, and he honestly thought they needed this conversation. When Padmé saw his position on the issue, she adverted her eyes. Something was wrong, very wrong.

"He doesn't know, does he?" Bail asked heavily as his footsteps wavered. He had played peacekeeper between the Skywalkers and their enemies for so long, but he never thought there would be any internal problems. When she shook her head fervently, he looked Padmé over. She face was pale and gaunt, hidden behind her wavy hair. Her stomach, plump and round as it was, barely showed through her oversized clothes. She had done well in hiding her condition.

"How far along?" he whispered as he took her by the elbow. A lady being led to the Senate was gentlemanly, and no one would question his behavior. Padmé moved gracefully with her head held high, and though she looked pallid, only her close friends would be able to tell something was wrong. She would always appear strong in the eyes of her people, and few could see the fear behind her eyes.

She had no time to answer for they had reached the twentieth level of the Senate. The hovercraft was mostly full, but the inhabitants made room for Bail and Padmé to enter with a small smile. A few "welcome backs" resounded through the spacious seats, and Padmé glanced at Senator Organa apologetically. Talk was widespread through the Senate, as was commonplace for the Senators. Many talked and conspired more to themselves than to contribute to the matters at hand.

"What have been called for?" Padmé asked Mon Mothma to her right. Tension filled her body, and the baby kicked restlessly in her womb. She secretly hoped for a little girl, someone she could relate to. A girl was easier to hide than a boy, especially from the Jedi Order. She heard rumors of children being taken at birth from their mothers, and though Anakin had assured her otherwise, she still had an uneasy feeling.

"We don't know, but it will be something we'll need another one of our _dinner meetings_ for," Mon hushed lightly in Padme's ear. The dinner meetings were escapades (for lack of a better word) in which the Alliance of Free Republicans met to discuss the concerns of the Senate. Most, but not all of its members were against the Chancellor, and Padmé tended to keep her views between Mon Mothma and Bail Organa. Not even Anakin knew of their night outings.

Silence descended on the Senators as the floor opened up beneath them. The Chancellor was cloaked, and Padmé stared at him in confusion. Where had the old, sweet man she had once knew gone? The cloak was midnight black, and though his face was partially hidden, she could feel the glee come off him in waves. He wasn't a happy man, but he was cynical. Something had drawn his hand, but that something had been bitten back. A snarl flashed on his face, but it was quickly replaced by something more…evil.

"Friends, foes, and fellow senators, I welcome you to the dawn of a new age. I was in my study this morning when I believed the war was close to an end. However, I was wrong because also this morning, I was attacked," The chancellor paused dramatically as gasps spread through the room. Many wanted to ask questions, but they withheld their questions. They waited eagerly for a resolution, an end that would save them all, an end that would never come.

"I was attacked by those I considered friends of the Republic, friends of my own. They had attacked me with a brutality I had never seen from one of the Jedi…" Palpatine trailed off dramatically as he raised his arms. His hood fell back around his shoulders, and the light caught a maddening gleam in his eyes. Bail coughed disgustedly as Padmé leaned forward in anticipation. They had to be ready to bolt from the room at any time. Silence descended upon the Senate.

"Yes, the Jedi were my unforeseeable foes. My guards managed to overpower the Jedi who attacked me, but we caught one alive, sulking off in the hangar. He was undoubtedly attempting to destroy the hangar bay to keep us in this building. Why, I ask. Why are the Jedi plotting against us? Why do they strive to see our downfall? From this moment, every single Jedi is an enemy of the Republic," Palpatine announced as one of the hoverseats moved forward. Luke Skywalker was held between two guards with energy binders on his wrists.

Several senators stood up in alarm as the sight of the hostile Jedi before them. Shouts of "Traitor!" were heard throughout the room as feet shuffled close to the edge of the hovercrafts. Luke bowed his head as he tried to concentrate on the Force. There were too many voices, too many cries of pain. The Jedi Temple was under attack, and the clones were too overpowering. He wanted nothing more to help them, the silence the pain in his head, but a wall, a blinding wall kept him from touching the Force energy inside him. Was this Palpatine's new form of cruelty? To be able to hear and see the Force without being able to use it?

"Tell us, Jedi; why did you attack me? Has anarchy been a part of the Jedi's plans from the beginning? Speak!" Palpatine commanded, and Luke raised his head to look Palpatine straight in the eye. He repressed his hatred for the Sith Master, and reverted to his practices of meditation. He couldn't break Palpatine's shields with the limited amount of power he had now, but he could pull on the strings of the Force around him.

"You haven't told them yet, have you Palpatine? You haven't told them _your_ plans for these people," Luke answered with barely concealed anger. He refused to let Palpatine have power over him. Power was neither good nor evil; power was merely affective according to the hands it was placed in. Palpatine staring at him undisguised fury, and the black he wore gave him an extra sense of insecurity of dealing with the man his father had killed.

"What do you speak of?" Palpatine hissed as Luke prodded against the wall. The barrier wavered in his mind, but no cracks could be found. Palpatine sent a Force lashing over to him, and Luke winced in pain. He could still feel the electricity reverberating through his bones, and every hair on his body stood on end. Palpatine looked momentarily unnerved, but he quickly regained his posture. Luke almost blocked out the other members of the room before, but now they shifted restlessly in their seats.

"We were all pieces to your strategic game, but it's the Jedi's turn to move. You have plotted and molded a plan to turn this body of government into an Empire, Sith Lord," Luke responded as he waited for the opportune moment. No one was sitting in their seats, and all representatives were demanding answers. They either wanted to falsify the accusation or have the complete truth of the matter.

"You can't prove anything," Palpatine grit out as he lowered his voice. Luke found the crack he needed and started working at the hairline opening the Chancellor had opened for him. The Jedi pushed and pulled, and the crack soon became filled with a wedge. Luke fit his mental form through the splice in the energy. A maelstrom presented itself on the other side with flashes of lightning, wind, and air around him. His feet refused to find the ground, and he couldn't fight the screams.

A tree branch came into view, and he grasped onto the support as if his life depended on it. The wind continued to batter on his body, but he had enough strength to pull himself out of the vision momentarily. Light trickled close to the edge of his peripheral vision, and he felt the binds on his hands loosen to fall on his palms. The chafing hadn't been bad due to the fact he had been unconscious at the time of the binding.

Palpatine had yet to notice anything had tipped in Luke's favor, but something itched at the back of his mind. The barrier he had carefully constructed around the Jedi's mind was still in place, but something had been done to it. Knowingly or unknowingly, the Jedi had tampered with his work of art. This out-of-place being was getting underneath his pallid skin far worse than anyone else had before. Perhaps this was the Jedi who stripped him of his new apprentice.

"No?" Luke asked as he stepped forward. The Guard beside him prodded him towards the Chancellor. It took all of Luke's restraint not to drop the façade right then and there. "Then, I suppose your guards are capable of Force strength. After all, _they _were the ones who murdered the Jedi in the Temple. How do you explain my capture, Chancellor? And why is there an aircraft looming on the moon of Yavin?" he tested lightly as he cocked his head to the side. He needed the Senator's support, for this battle would not be one from strength alone. Allies must be made for battles to be won.

"Guards, take him away at once!" Palpatine demanded as he leaned forward on his hovercraft, gripping the rails. His lips were pulled back in snarled expression with his eyes taking on a yellow tinge. Luke looked into his glaring expression and smiled. He clasped the bindings on his wrists and held them out for the Chancellor to see. When the guards stepped forward to grab him, Luke waved his hand back for them to fly against the sides, knocking them unconscious. The maelstrom was growing stronger around him, but he reached out for the Jedis near him. Anakin immediately responded from one of the balconies near Obi-Wan.

Luke moved the hovercraft up to the Chancellor's level. "You're right, Chancellor, war has begun, but I believe we have more allies than you ever could have imagined. I'm sorry you couldn't finish your plan of wiping us out, but I must insist on living to be the bane of your existence," Luke said as he stood upon the steps within the hovercraft. He could feel all eyes in the staring at his statute, and he could feel his confidence soaring in front of the Sith Lord.

"If it's war you want, it's war you'll get," Palpatine rasped out with his sultry undertones. The heat of the room had risen, and Luke refused to show the people of the room how much he feared and almost darkingly admired the man before him. "I suppose to want to be formally recognized as the rebels you are," Palpatine spat out with a slight nod of his head. Luke choked on the irony as he nodded his head.

"Very well, then, traitor. Name your organization and its leaders," Palpatine grit out as he could feel the electricity sparkling in his fingertips. He liked nothing more than to blast this Jedi to cinders, but the people before him not react well to charred flesh. Most of them would be reviled at the thought of getting their hands dirty, and their aristocratic class would rise against him in a joint effort of anarchy.

Luke couldn't very well name himself the leader of the 'rebellion' because he hadn't been born yet. All he had to do was name the people who would forge the ties necessary to end the war quicker than the twenty-five year span of the one he lived through. Any sudden move here would change the course of the history he had already set in motion. Obi-Wan or Yoda would probably know who to choose for the leaders, but he was without their guidance now.

"We shall be named the Alliance of the Republic, and the leaders will be so: Obi-Wan and Yoda will lead the Jedi task force against any and all Stormtroopers you decide to curse upon us. Politically, Mon Mothma shall negotiate any terms we have with you. If any others will step forward to assist her in this promotion, we would be gratified for them to step forward now," Luke said as he looked the Chancellor straight in the eye.

Bail Organa turned to glanced at Padmé in the hovercraft. "Milady?" he asked hospitably as she watched the new Jedi intently. She felt a strong pull towards him with his sandy hair and bright blue eyes. He almost reminded her of…no, it couldn't be. Anakin didn't have a father for them to be related. Anakin didn't receive many traits from his mother, so there was no possible way that… Nevermind. "I cannot," she whispered sullenly. She didn't know where Anakin stood, but she would continue to support from afar.

"I shall then," Bail replied with a sigh as he moved to stand. "Chancellor, I shall also represent the Alliance on matters of trade and diplomatics," he said with an air of finality. His wife wouldn't be happy with him for exposing their allegiances as such, but it would to do for the moment. She would understand that the time was right to move, and Alderaan would not be able to stay neutral for long.

Palpatine looked faintly scandalized for a moment before seething inwardly. He nodded tersely and looked to their floating hovercraft. Padmé gazed back coolly with a neutral expression masking her face. She would proudly stand behind Senator Organa if only to unnerve him. By his growing anger, Padmé wanted to pull the Jedi out of the firefight, but she knew somehow that he could fend for himself. Her motherly approach probably came from the infant in her womb.

"Chancellor, I will stand neither for nor against you in this matter of political and open war. I would, however, like to know why you have secretly been gathering arms. The war we thought we had been fighting was dying off. Do you not agree that the best course of action would have been to decrease the number of armed fighters we have among us?" Padmé asked as she watched his expression carefully. He was calculating her, the same as she did for him. She didn't trust in his treachery to Naboo any more than she did of his treachery to the Republic.

"Senator Amidala, you betray your allegiance to me with your insinuations," Palpatine answered as he turned his focus solely on her. "I had hoped you would have seen this nonsense for what it is: nonsense. I suppose we all have our secrets, though, don't we Senator?" Palpatine implied to her shocked features. Padmé tensed as skimmed the forbidden grounds. How cold Palpatine know about her affair with Anakin? They were legally married, and she was with child, but he should not have realized anything was amiss. They had been careful to the point of paranoia.

"To what point do you pursue, Chancellor? If we are unguarding secrets, then I must insist on your version of the truth. You have not yet told us your plans for the future of the Republic, or do you truly wish to make this body of government an Empire?" Padmé asked while attempting to keep her breathing even. If he were to spill out all the secrets of sanctity, she would be in more disgrace than she could handle.

"Then, from this point on, I declare this body to be the foundation of a new Empire. All those who oppose this notion will arrested and escorted to the new put in cells immediately. Guards! Arrest Senators Mothma and Organa. I'll deal with Lady Amidala myself," The Chancellor commanded as he smirked to the other people in the room. "Will anyone else be joining them in their new refuge?"

The now-royal-guards spurred into action. The keypad on Padme's hovercraft died as suddenly as it had come to life, and the guards surrounded the craft easily. Luke refused to panic as he rose his craft up to Padme's level and motioned for them to climb into his craft. Luke shrugged off the guards' attempts to deter their escape, but pandemonium had broken out. Senators were filing out of the room or preventing other people to escape. The only person now focused on Luke Skywalker was Chancellor Palpatine himself. Palpatine began spinning and distorting one of the empty hovercrafts nearest to them, and Luke gulped.

"You might want to hold on tight," Luke whispered to Padmé with a slight grimace. Luke noticed her not-so-covered up condition, and he winced even harder. This was probably going to hurt his past self more than it would hurt her. Mon Mothma and Bail Organa gripped the sides of the craft as well as he suddenly dropped the craft with the Force to avoid the spinning machine. He felt the metal graze his hair, but he didn't have time to look as Palpatine sent another one his way.

Luke grabbed onto the craft once more before turning sharply to the left. Mon Mothma almost fell out of the hovercraft that time, but somehow, she managed to hold onto the bolted down seat. Palpatine was hissing at him now, and Luke could feel the electricity before it hit the craft. Lightning danced small barge, and Luke had to take part of the electricity into himself to protect his mother from the onslaught. He groaned loudly as he lost his grip on the craft.

"Bail whispered a small prayer beside him as Luke struggled to grasp the essence of the hovercraft once more. Suddenly, the craft slowed to a stop before Luke came face to face with the elusive Anakin Skywalker. Luke grinned weakly before expelling the excess electricity towards the Chancellor. Palpatine jumped to the next hovercraft to avoid him and stalked through the rampaging crowds of Senators outside the chamber.

"My hero," Luke said as he rolled out of the hovercraft. Anakin grinned at him with Obi-Wan standing a few feet behind him. "You couldn't help but showing off, could you?" Luke asked as he winced at the smell of charred flesh. No one should ever have to go through that torture twice. Every bone in his body felt the fiery aftermath of Palpatine's lightning, and Luke could barely stand on his feet by himself. "Is everyone alright?"

"Padmé!" Anakin exclaimed as Obi-Wan watched in disapproval. Anakin helped his wife to her feet before embracing her with a chaste. "You're not hurt, are you? And the baby? I'll kill him if he hurt either one of you!" Anakin said as he started to check Padmé over. The bulge in her stomach was as round as ever, and she didn't appear to be in any harm. One glance at Luke told him his son took the brunt of the attack.

"Anakin, I'm fine. You should thank this Jedi here for saving us though. He's the one who started all the chaos abroad in the building. Without his help, we would have never been able to expose Palpatine's plans," Padmé explained as she smiled at the newest Jedi. It was almost scary how much he resembled Anakin in some of his features, but the new Jedi seemed to be softer somehow.

"The Chancellor seemed to be off in a hurry. Perhaps we should be too," Bail Organa urged. Mon Mothma nodded in agreement. "I do wish you hadn't expose our plans so soon, young Jedi, but we'll have to work with what we have," Mon encouraged gently. She looked younger, much younger than Luke had remembered her, but the quiet strength she had remained. Luke gave her the grudging respect she deserved with a nod of his head.

"What, exactly, did you do, Luke?" Obi-Wan asked as he leant an arm out to Luke. Luke took the help gratefully as he leaned onto his old master. Obi-Wan's warmth and firm kindness spread to the Jedi Master, and Luke sighed in reluctance. He missed the chats they used to share about the Force, and he regretted seeing his father killing one of his only confidents. Leia filled the void as much as she could, but Obi-Wan would always remain a father figure to him.

"He caught me in the hangar bay while Anakin and I tried to find you. Whatever happened next is hazy because they managed to knock me unconscious. During that time, Palpatine constructed a shield around my mind to bind my Force abilities to him. I unnerved the Chancellor enough in here to slip through the cracks in the shield. You saw what happened afterwards. All I did was proclaim him a Sith Lord and tell his plans for an Empire. I don't see what he's complaining about; it's not like I told the senate about his affair with Prince Xizor's mother…"

"That dirty, ugly-looking nerf herder!" Padmé said with a laugh. Palpatine would never be able to live his allegations down now. Just wait until there was another Senate meeting (if there was another Senate meeting.) She covered her stomach with one of her hands with a small sigh. They had been hoping to avoid war at costs, but Palpatine had managed to drag herself and her husband into it anyway. She was simply glad they had not ended up on different sides of the war. Anakin would never forgive her for choosing a different path than him, even if it was the right one.

"It was very rude what you did to Anakin," Obi-Wan said to the yawning Luke. Luke gave him an expression that clearly said, 'and he's never been rude to me?' Obi-Wan gave him a tsk-tsk gesture. "You took some of his power from him at a time that was most inconvenient. Maybe you should think about asking next time. We were in the middle of persuading clones that we were their generals, and that they must listen to our demands."

"Sorry, Master," Luke replied as they reached their destination. The ship was a dingy old thing, but it was big enough to house all six (eight) of them. It would be a tight squeeze, but Anakin was positive they would make it back to the Jedi Temple in prime condition. Smoke wavered on the horizon before drifting down into the sea of buildings. The screams were dying, and Anakin wondered briefly if it meant they were winning or losing. He wasn't sure they could afford to lose anymore good people before the war had even begun.

"Did I hear something about war?" Anakin turned to Padmé as the gracefully put her into the speeder. War meant everything they had been fighting against was now their ally, or maybe they didn't know what they were fighting for. Were they fighting for freedom? Freedom for what? He didn't understand Palpatine's principles, but that didn't mean he was prepared to fight against one of his old friends. Fighting meant that Dooku in some twisted way had been right, and he helped kill a somewhat innocent man. (1)

"Luke thought it would be a good idea to set Mon Mothma and our secret faction against Palpatine, although I can't imagine how he knew about that," Padmé said with a slight smile towards Luke. "Bail seconded the war by agreeing on negotiating terms of war and trade. I'm not sure why he agreed to recognize us in the first place though," Padmé said finally as she slumped in her seat. The exhaustion of the day was starting to get to her.

"He wants to get rid of any competition from the start, so he can show any disloyal people what will happen to them if they disobey. He then broke his own rules by trying to have you arrested, showing everyone who was in charge of the government. It didn't work like I wanted it to, and it didn't work like he wanted it to. I had hoped we could capture him without resulting in the deaths of too many people," Luke trailed off with a sigh. His head was cushioned on the back of the seat.

Anakin shook his head as he started up the controls. The engine sputtered to life and hovered above the ground before moving gingerly out into traffic. "What did you say to all this, Padmé?" Anakin asked evenly as he gripped the controls tighter. He hoped she didn't suddenly also proclaim war, but he wouldn't put it past. He position between being a member of the Jedi Order and wife to a Senator put him into a difficult position.

"I remained neutral, Anakin, but the Chancellor wants to have me arrested anyway," she replied distractedly. "He has something planned for me, but I'm not sure what it is. I'm scared, Anakin," she whispered. She bowed her head towards the city lights and watched as they flew by. The darkness was closing in on them, and Padmé was starting to feel claustrophobic inside the tiny hovercraft. Anakin pursed his lips.

"I know, Padmé, I know," Anakin answered as the Jedi Temple come into view. Bail was in deep conversation with Obi-Wan over the possible outcomes of the declaration of war. They could receive possible aid from other Senators who thought the same of Palpatine, or they could be decimated by the supporters of Palpatine. If anything, they received as many neutral votes as they did for supporters of Palpatine. Neutral votes could be tipped at any time in either direction. They would have to prove to the people that they were capable of carrying on a war.

Luke snored softly as they landed on the platform. Debris and bodies lay everywhere, and Mon Mothma nearly gagged at the sight. The stench of blood was putrid, but as many clones had been killed as Jedi. Mon Mothma poked Luke's form into waking, and he dredged out of the last traces of sleep. Seeing the destruction of the Jedi Temple brought the wish of still being trapped in a nightmare. His sleep had been much more pleasant than the reality before him.

"Does anyone want to here?" Anakin asked with an acidic taste in his mouth. It was his duty to search the Jedi Temple for survivors, and they had to transport the dead to the recesses of deep space. All bodies on Coruscant were either buried elsewhere or cremated to add fuel to the fires. Personally, he felt all the Jedi in the Temple were much more deserving of a burial than all of Palpatine's men combined.

"I'll stay," Padmé offered, and the other two Senators soon agreed after a short debate. Anakin looked to Luke, and Luke looked at the building forlornly. Life could be sensed in the Temple as well as death, and he wasn't sure he was prepared for the images inside. Had Leia, Han, Chewie, and Yoda gotten out alright? He wasn't sure he could handle this mess any longer with the weight of his friends' deaths on his shoulders. They had agreed to follow him here after all.

"I'll go," Luke said as he gulped. The walkway to the Temple was scattered with a few people who had tried to flee from the front door. Luke didn't recognize any of them from the holoscreens he had once seen, but Anakin and Obi-Wan seemed to. Anakin seemed horrified at the carnage and looked about ready to pass out. Obi-Wan was only slightly more stable from his meditation exercises, but nothing prepared them for the sight that met their eyes as they walked into the building. (2)

Dooku's last semi-mentioning in this story. I thought a people would have liked to hear on his behalf one last time.

Ah, I am the master of cliffhangers. Worse yet, the next chapter is based on the perspectives of Yoda, Chewbacca, Han, and Leia. Neo-chan opened up a pitchfork store a little while ago.

I'm not sure when my next update will be. I'm hoping to have time to write around Thanksgiving break for the next chapter, but we'll see how that goes with track, work, and school for me. I'll reply to all questions and reviews in the next chapter.

-Insane Pineapple from Naboo


	9. Chapter 8: Children of the Storm

**Important Note:** Timeline wise, this chapter occurs right after chapter five until the present moment. Everything in chapter six-eight occurred at a much faster pace than this chapter. If anyone has forgotten, I sent Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and Yoda to Kashyyyk in chapter five. Thus, we continue out story.

Changing History: Children of the Storm

"Chewie, pass me the hydrospanner," Han asked as he lay on his back underneath the fighter. They had been caught in crossfire in space on their way out of Coruscant, and the ship had taken reasonable damage. Han almost wished he had the kid in this situation; Luke had always been good at fixing things. Once on Yavin, Luke had fixed his Millennium Falcon in a matter hours when they were running from the Imps. Han had almost offered the kid a medal after that dreaded day.

Han just shook his head as faithful companion tossed him the wrong tool. "Chewie!" he said in half-exasperation. The situation was familiar, but for the first time, they were in no hurry to be off somewhere. No Imps were chasing them, no Jabba was waiting for them to make a run, and no bounty hunters were after their necks. Han smiled to himself as he resisted the urge to start humming. Before his involvement in the war and long before he became a smuggler, Han had been famous for singing while he worked.

The voices of Leia and Master Yoda drifted down from the cockpit below, and Han choked on a nail as Leia's parentage was mentioned. Leia stubbornly refused to talk about the Dark Lord of the Sith, and Han silently applauded her for her efforts. Darth Vader had always been a sore spot for his fiancée, even though Luke talked about him with such reverence. He would never understand how the kid's mind worked. Luke always tried to hold optimism for the situations he was in, but the fact he accepted Vader with open arms still disturbed Han.

Han dropped the too-small hydrospanner with a sigh and moved to stretch. Leia's voice was becoming louder by the second, even though the Jedi Master's voice remained the same. Her temper would outdo her one day, and Han dropped his head. "Keep working, Chewie. I think we'll be needing to get out of here as soon as possible now," he ordered his companion lightly as he scratched the side of his head. Chewbacca barked his agreement.

"I can't tell you, Master Yoda, I'm sorry," Leia whispered as she got that sad look upon her face. Han wanted to take her into his arms and hold her close until she cried out her worries, but he knew she wouldn't appreciate the gesture in front of Master Yoda. Instead, he leaned in the doorway and waited for one or both of the occupants of the cockpit to notice his presence. Yoda continued speaking as if he wasn't there, but Han was sure the little green being knew of his presence.

"Afraid, are you?" Yoda prodded the youngling. Leia was still a youngling in his eyes from her lack of good training, and he wondered where she had been hidden for so long. She did not hold the amount of fear or anger that a certain Skywalker did, but she held underlying tensions that could be her undoing. Yoda leaned on his walking stick lightly as he felt the presence of her attachment approach. Approve, he did not of their relationship, but it was unavoidable. They were too tightly entwined at this point to separate their growing love.

"Afraid of your parentage?" Han asked as he kneeled beside his princess. She looked at him with a widening of her eyes, but she quickly disguised her fear. She wasn't sure she trusted Han to not say too much of the future, but she was also no longer sure what Luke had leaked out to the other Jedi. Leia wished to keep her brother's privacy if she could, but the feat was becoming harder and harder by the moment. Han took her hand in his, and she relented the tiniest bit.

"I am not afraid of the future; I know what lies there: death, destruction, love, happiness. I trust Luke enough to overcome the burdens of the immediate trials, but I'm not sure we can handle the repercussions. I'm not sure I can answer all your questions, but you can ask," Leia said as she looked at the Jedi Master. He seemed wise in his old age, and Leia could see why Luke trusted him. He had yet to judge her, and she was grateful for his patience.

Yoda nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Trained, you have been. But by who?" Yoda asked Leia as she sighed in relief. He wasn't going to ask any dangerous questions yet, and she had problems answering inquires about her training. After all, she was proud of her brother for all he had accomplished so far. She could understand Yoda's need of knowledge from her, since Luke was back on Coruscant, but if he believed that getting information out of her was easier than Luke, he would have to think again.

"Luke, my brother, trained me enough to defend myself in dangerous situations. I cannot handle a lightsaber, but I can confuse my enemies enough to escape the circumstances. I can also levitate the smallest of objects," she said with pride. Yoda cocked his head thoughtfully to the side. The youngling was taught by another youngling. It was a wonder either one of them had survived the war for so long.

"A Master, Luke was trained by?" he asked. Luke could not have trained himself to contain the power he had. Leia was isolated enough to be trained to a smaller degree, but Luke's presence on the Force was a glaring homing beacon. Even though Luke shielded himself away from the darkness surrounding him, a few shafts of lights made their way through the cracks in his shield. He wondered what made the cracks large enough for anything to slip through.

Leia smiled at the memory of old Kenobi. "Obi-Wan Kenobi trained Luke for a short period of time. Unfortunately, Master Kenobi was killed by the Dark Lord of the Sith soon after meeting Luke," Leia said with a sad look in her eye. The memory of the old Jedi was still fresh in her mind, and she missed Obi-Wan. "After Obi-Wan, Luke started training with you, Master Yoda. I'm not sure you ever knew, but Luke respected you more than anyone else," Leia finished with an odd smile. Luke had confided in her after the war about Yoda, and she almost punched him for traveling to an unknown planet to search out someone he had never heard of.

"An apprentice, I took?" Yoda asked in a concerned voice. He thought after Dooku, he would not have taken another apprentice until the end of his days. He was content in the Temple to look after the younglings until apprenticeship, but to take another apprentice? He would never think he was prepared to train another Jedi Knight. What had happened in the next couple of years to change his thoughts? And to take a Skywalker, at that. He must have had a heart attack somewhere along the way.

"You didn't have much choice at the time. None of us did," Leia said with a sigh as she looked out the window. Space was looming overhead, and she couldn't wait to move out in the world freely again. She had the feeling of being on edge, a feeling she had hoped to never have again after the destruction of the Empire. The looming threats were out there by the Emperor, by her father, and by the people who let the war go as far as it did.

"Skywalker, he is," Yoda stated, goading Leia's reaction. He was not disappointed when she seemed to pull back from him, from his questions. Some relation to Anakin Skywalker, they probably both were. The question was how far did Anakin go to break the Jedi Code. Anakin Skywalker was becoming more of a threat the Jedi Order every day, and only Obi-Wan stood in their way from removing the threat. They would be keeping a much closer eye on him for the next couple of months.

"Yes," Leia answered softly. She leaned back in her chair and glanced at Han. "What have we come to?" Leia muttered. It was a wonder, really, that none of the Jedi had found out their relation sooner. Had Yoda asked Luke, he probably would have had no choice but to answer the wise, old Master. She could manipulate to a certain point, as long as the Master did not ask key questions in his interrogation.

"Dark times, we are in," Yoda obliged as he watched her reactions. Her hair was up in two buns, much like the traditions of several of the core worlds. She had her expression schooled in a careful mask, and her lips were set in a firm line. Her stance was sure, proud, unwavering. Leia reminded him of someone, someone he knew very well. He would solve this mystery soon enough. "Who was your mother?" he asked gently. The sadness returned to her eyes, and he almost regretted watching the light burn out of them.

"She was a queen from long ago," Leia answered. "She was very kind, but sad. I didn't her for long, maybe only for a brief moment. I would only know her if I saw her again," Leia finished as she twiddled her fingers. It was true, no one had ever told her of her mother's name, but she had her suspicions. As soon as she could, Leia visited the library on Coruscant to find information of the Old Republic, and a certain senator's name kept appearing in the archives. Luke had helped her continue her search of the queen's heritage and relations.

"Find her, you will," Yoda replied surely and mysteriously. The fact Senator Amidala had children brought joy to his ears; however, it was overshadowed by the fact she didn't live long enough to see them grow. He hoped to reunite the family on Coruscant if the Senator was allowed through the blockade to the Senate. A battle was raging outside, and they would have to fight their way back in.

"I hope you are right, Master Yoda," Leia replied. Han placed his hand on her shoulder as she stood, and Chewie raced into the room. They exchanged heated discussion for a moment as Yoda bowed over as if in pain. He gripped his heart tightly, and Leia raced over to him. His cane fell to the floor, and the hard floor met with his knees. The small fighter seemed to be getting smaller by the second, and Leia spot a few fighters outside of their craft.

"Let's go, your highness," Han said gruffly as he picked her and placed her back into the seat. He felt a bit odd about doing the same to a Jedi Master, so he carefully led the green creature to another seat. Chewbacca let out a series of howls that distinctly sounded like "Incoming," so Han dove into the cockpit. Shot were raining down on the ship, and Han grasped the controls without a second glance. "Hang on, everyone."

"What's going on, Chewie?" Leia asked as she fastened the belt around her. The ship rollicked as it twisted away from the fire, but a stray shot hit the tailpiece. "We're being followed by the Empire," Chewie barked as he lit up the hyperdrive. Leia's shocked expression didn't go unnoticed by Yoda, but the master was breathing too heavily to see much of anything else. The air seemed to be closing in on them more and more. They spirited away towards the Coruscant system, and Chewie barely saw the escape pods moving out of the Kashyyyk system.

"How can the Empire be following us if it hasn't been created yet!" Leia exclaimed as she bolted out of her seat. The firefight was growing down below on the world of Coruscant as she picked up the news channel on her comlink. The images before her made her sit down heavily against the wall, and Yoda walked gingerly into the room behind her. Yoda knew what was coming, as he knew many of the Jedi had been killed in the last few minutes. The Force was screaming to him, and he found it almost impossible to block out of his mind.

"Breaking News: The Republic, led by Chancellor Palpatine had now been turned into a Galactic Empire. Almost immediately, a group of rebel senators led by an unknown Jedi and Senator Bail Organa have broken away to form an Alliance. This Alliance henceforth declared war on the Galactic Empire. Before this move, however, Chancellor Palpatine declared all members of the Jedi Order enemies of the state. Smoke can be seen from the Jedi Temple; however, we do not know the events that have taken place. More news to be followed shortly after the break," the reporter announced as Han turned off the link.

"So much for no Empire," Han muttered and Chewie barked in agreement. The Coruscant guard had yet to notice them, but a small fighter was trying to hail them down. Han opened the link almost immediately, "State your name and destination, fighter," the man said on the vid. Yoda backed in to a corner somewhat to stay out of the picture. Leia moved in front of him to complete the measure.

"Han Solo, independent tradesmen," Han said over the com. He raised his eyebrows over the picture, and the man glared back at him. He wasn't about to claim allegiance to the alliance when he was sure the kid had something to do with this whole mess. Luke was the one who got him involved in the first place, but he was almost positive the kid would have wanted to avoid another war. He sat back in his chair as he waited for the rebukes.

They didn't come. "Solo, you are clear to travel through, but finish your business here and get out. We're having a Revolution, and things are about to get ugly around here." Han snorted as the link dissipated and the picture went black. He knew what he was getting himself into, but he doubted that fighter did. He quickly maneuvered the ship through the fighting to land on a pad close to the Jedi Temple. The news cast had been right; smoke could be seen from space.

"The moment we walk in there is the moment we're seen as traitors to the Republics," Leia said forlornly as she reached for her cloak outside of the cockpit. The material would not keep her warm, but it would disguise her looks from that of her mother. She wasn't sure what her brother had done this time, but she wanted to live long enough to find out. Stormtroopers were piling out of the Temple now, if they were even called stormtroopers yet, and she prepared herself for the opening fight.

"Sweetheart, when was the last time you weren't considered a rebel?" Han asked as he reached for the front guns. He blasted as many Imps as he could out of the way before reaching for his blaster. Chewie quickly turned the ship to low power and followed his captain down the ramp. Then, they were running. Why did they always seem to be running? Chewie carried Yoda on his back as they wasted no time in getting to the Temple doors. "Well, this is going to be fun," he muttered sarcastically as he blasted a clone out of his way.

Chewie barked out a warning, but Han was too close to turn away from the blastfire. A beam of light caught the top part of his shoulder, and he cried out. Leia shot the clone behind him and hurried over. "Are you alright?" she asked quickly as she watched for the clones. Her hood pulled back slowly, and Han marveled at how beautiful she looked when she was angry. Angry was an understatement; she was positively seething. Her hair was mussed, and a few strands of hair fell out of the locks. Her eyes blazed, and her concern for him was energizing.

"We have to help them," Han whispered as he motioned to a group of younglings backed into a corner by the stormtroopers. They were holding their own, but every once in awhile, one of the younglings would succumb to the madness surrounding them. Leia nodded in agreement, not satisfied with his answer, but not arguing either. She felt her way around the passage until the sight of clones came into sight.

An entire battalion of stormtroopers were lined up in a firing squad position, closing in on the younglings. Some of the children were no more than five years old, and Leia marveled as they held a strong grip on their tiny lightsabers, fear in their eyes. Leia leveled her blaster and shot the clone nearest to her. He hadn't even hit the ground when her next target began to fall. She let out a round, and her Force senses tingled. She twisted away from incoming fire and motioned the younglings over to her. She needed to get the younglings to safety as soon as possible. She could double back to help Chewie and Yoda with the older, more experienced Jedi. "Follow closely, and watch for clones," she whispered to them.

A small Jedi child nudged her in the side, and her gaze followed his outstretched hand to a small nook in a corner. It provided little protection if they were found, but it was small enough to go unnoticed by the clones. She nodded her consent to the youngling with a hesitant smile. She was about to turn away when the child tugged on her hand. She swallowed any impatience she had to find Han.

"He'll be alright," the child whispered in her ear, and she realized it was the same youngling Han had been attached to when they first arrived here. His eyes twinkled, but he had a knowing look in his eyes. She had a suspicious feeling he wasn't talking her gruff fiancée. She wasn't worried about Han overly much; she knew he could take care of himself. So who was this youngling referring too? Chewie was alright, and she wasn't sensing too much fear from her resourceful brother.

The child scuttled off before she could ask, and she was torn between leaving the children and finding her friends. She felt a bit lost on her own, but she had a duty to protect the innocent. She sighed and shut the door behind her. An almost inaudible "Thank you" came from behind her, and she smiled nervously at the children. She had never had many dealings with children, but her friends told her she wasn't bad with them. Coming from Luke, it meant a lot to her. Coming from Han, with his shooing children off, it didn't mean much.

"Are any of you hurt?" Leia asked softly as she kneeled before the children. Most shook their heads 'no', but one small child held out her hand for her inspection. It was little more than a scratch, but Leia tore off a piece of her robe anyway. Scratches sometimes led to infection, and she had limited knowledge of healing. She put pressure on the small wound, and when no yellow puss squeezed out of the wound, she sighed in relief. This child would be alright.

They seemed a little quiet for children, but she pressed on. "How many of you were caught by those creatures?" she asked with barely controlled anger. Anger led to hate, she told herself, and Luke wouldn't approve. Her temper was also part of the reason Luke had only partially train. They hardly needed another Vader in the family, and she didn't want to become that which she despised for so long.

"We were separated. We don't know where the others are," the little girl she patched up answered. This was bad news indeed, and not something Leia wished to hear. Missing children meant she would have to go round them up. She pushed the impatience once again aside, for maybe she would come across one of her friends on the way. She longed to check on Han, and if she had to look all over the Temple to find these children, she would. The fact someone ordered these mindless clones to kill innocents was an outrage to her.

She reached into cloak and pulled out her blaster. "Does anyone know how to handle one of these?" she asked solemnly as she checked the power cell. A chorus of 'no's were heard around the small ring, and she counted the children. Seven boys and five girls: not a bad number. They could probably overpower the clones, or at least hold them off until she got back. She handed the blaster to the oldest of the children and curled his hand around it.

"Instinct will take over, I promise," she surmised. He nodded his head, and he kept his fear in check. She was amazed by the amount of self-control he held, and she knew he make a fine Jedi one day. "If anyone comes to the door, shoot first, ask questions later. Do you understand?" she asked him gently. The younger Jedi would hopefully be able to sense a dangerous presence compared to her, Han, Yoda, or Chewie, but they would forgive her if not.

She gave one last glance to the younglings and left to find the other children. Her gut told her to take a left at the intersection, and she found herself lost in a maze of rooms. How did Jedi ever find their way around in this expanse building? The marble and buttresses were beautiful, but they all looked the same to her. The farther she went, the thicker a trail of smoke became for her the sort through. The air stung at her eyes, and she tried to duck beneath the spreading flames. A water system was trying to douse the flames, but the fire was growing, spreading, and destroying everything in its path.

The shuffling of feet could be heard next to her, and she stepped aside as stormtroopers passed. They either ignored her or didn't see her as she made her way farther to the core. The rooms were becoming smaller now as the gloom of the scene filled her senses. The thought of decimating such beauty devastated her, but she was on a mission to retrieve the children of the Temple. She could not stop to save petty objects.

Her Force senses tingled harshly, and she took shallow breaths against the danger before her. The door had caved in, and carnage lay everywhere. Older Jedi and apprentices alike lay at the feet of stormtroopers, and she blasted a stray clone out of her way. Her eyes stung with the heat and tears as she moved passed the bodies at her feet. She recognized a lone person here and there from her search through the holovids, and she regretted that they could not save them yet again. Fate was cruel, and she hoped they could still their misguided father from his path of darkness. These Jedi had been overpowered, outmanned by the clones, and she took note of the faces as she went by.

A few clones were setting fire to a door, and she could hear the cries from within. She had found the other children, but they were under a brutal assault from the clones. Her blaster became the fire on the firing squad, and she could feel the Force sizzle and pop around her. Her anger was driving her to madness as she cut down the clones one by one. As she finished, she leaned against the burning door with deep breaths. What was becoming of her? Why couldn't she control the anger against nameless, faceless, white masks?

The door caved under her weight, and the children inside stepped back in fear of her. She couldn't say she blamed them and hid her face in shame under the cloak. She just killed a squadron of clones in rage in front of the Jedi children, even though they probably couldn't see her. Leia calmed her light on the Force and stifled the hate from their prying eyes. She took a few calming breaths before speaking to them, "You friends are waiting for you. We must hurry."

"You're not going to hurt us, are you?" a fearful Twi'lek asked her. Her eyes were round, and she wouldn't move from her spot, even with the flames growing around her. Leia pursed her lips thoughtfully and brushed the water out of her eyes. The embers were chomping at her robe now, and she wondered what another Jedi would do in this situation. The answer came to her from somewhere deep in her mind, as if she had repressed it unconsciously.

"Younglings," she said as she began backing out of the door. A few began to follow her, but the Twi'lek remained in place. "What would Master Yoda say in this situation?" she tried to teach, and a few of the stubborn ones looked slightly more unhesitant. "He would want you to live, for your sakes. He would want you to care for each other. It doesn't matter that I'm here," Leia continued desperately as a piece of the ceiling fell in the next room. The heat was weakening the stone structure above them.

The girl nodded cautiously and followed. The Twi'lek kept her eyes on this new being; the woman held much anger in her, but it was not directed at them. She seemed angry at the white monsters that had been chasing them through the Temple. She hid her face behind a cloak, and Sari wondered why a Master or Knight would hide their face behind a mask. The new woman also didn't carry a lightsaber, so she might not be a Jedi at all. "Who are you?" Sari demanded in her five-year-old voice. They dove for cover in the next room.

"Leia," the woman answered simply as she beckoned the children forward. They came in clumps of sevens or eights, and 'Leia' nodded her approval. Sari humped as she ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. Leia wasn't harming them, for now, and they had to trust their instincts. The Force told them more danger was coming from the burning rooms than from the woman herding them, but Sari was still cautious of the dark presence looming around the woman. She was slipping quickly into her anger, and she probably didn't even realize it.

"Why are you saving us, Sith?" Sari accused as she followed her fellow students down the hallway. She waited to gage the angered reaction from the woman, but it never came. Instead, Leia gave her a puzzled look, as if she didn't know what she was talking about. No blackness encumbered her, and Sari frowned in confusion. This wasn't the way Sith handled situations like this, and the woman was looking less and less like a Sith.

"You think I'm a Sith?" Leia asked with a confused expression. Had she really slipped into her anger so much, that the children believed her to be an enemy of the Light? She laughed at the irony of the situation as they rounded another corner. "Youngling, I'm far from the Sith you have seen. I'm training to be a Jedi Knight," she added as she motioned them down the corridor. She started a repetition of jumping before the younglings, waiting for them to pass, and jogging to the front again. She wished to keep the entire class of them together.

"You look a little old to still be training. Did you fail your exams?" Sari asked, curiosity getting the better of her. Leia didn't say she was apprenticed to anyone, merely that she was training. Several of the younglings were never picked for apprenticeship, and most of those went into healing or technical fields. She was training to be a Jedi Knight, but the Council would never allow for it. Was that why she was hiding from the other Jedi?

Leia laughed again at the short Jedi's questions. "There weren't any exams for me. My brother is training me," she answered before the youngling could ask. "I need you to do a very important task for me, youngling," Leia said as the next hallway came about. There was shouting on the other side, and the sounds of battle raged. She could feel the lightsaber, the weapon Luke had made for her in extreme cases of emergency, resting on her hip. She hoped she wouldn't need it, for she preferred the familiar feel of a blaster in her hands, but her power cell was running low.

"I can handle it!" Sari stated proudly as she crossed her hands over her arms. She would make this Jedi-in-training proud of her, no matter what stood in her way. The other children were still a bit frightened around her, but she could do anything Leia asked her to do. She was the most grown-up five-year-old in the class, and she could even handle a tiny lightsaber. Those white monsters would be no match for her.

"I need you to take the younglings to the end of the hall. A door will be on your right; knock once, then enter. You might want to have your lightsaber out in case one of your friends accidentally fires at you," Leia said in a rush as a the door began to slide open. She held it closed for a split second with her limited Force abilities. "Go, now! I'll hold them off," Leia said in a rush as she moved the Twi'lek along. She knew the girl was disappointed for not being to see battle, but she needed the innocents out of the way as she fought.

She lost her Force-grip on the door, and it slid open without warning. She was expecting a stormtrooper to fall out into the hallway, but Han collided into her instead. His large form sent her reeling to the ground, and the wind was knocked out of her lungs unwillingly. His blaster was notched into her ribcage, and she pushed him off as hard as she could. "Han!" she exclaimed with a cough as she rolled over. The few nutrients in her stomach churned, and she let out a few dry heaves.

Han was instantly by her side. "Looks like I owe you one," Han said without humor. His back had ripped open again, and his badly bandaged shoulder was beginning to soak through the cloth. It that wasn't enough, he had injured his fiancée, thinking she was one of the Imps. She smacked away his hand as he reached for her and pulled herself up on her knees. He winced in apology as she took away his blaster. He had a feeling he wouldn't be sleeping anywhere near her for the next couple of days…or weeks.

"I heard the sounds of fighting," Leia managed to get out and looked at the door. The blaster bolts were getting farther away, and she could see the backside of Yoda as he powered his way through the stormtroopers. His lithe body twirled around in circles before the clones, and they were pushed back farther into the wall. Ha! Now you know what it feels like, Leia thought as she clutched her ribcage. She knew Han didn't mean too, but it felt as if he bruised a few of her ribs. His weight felt about twice as hers, even though he was only fifty pounds heavier.

"They told me to get to the medical wing, but I'm thinking they need us more here. What do you say, sweetheart?" Han asked sweetly as he offered her a hand up. Leia tried stretching her back, but her ribs were allowing her limited mobility. She wasn't sure how much help they could be to Chewie and Yoda, but she was always willing to lend her assistance. The younglings seemed a good distance from the battle now, and she didn't sense any immediate danger for them. The Jedi inside needed their help much more.

"I say you're crazy, Han," Leia answered as she picked up her discarded blaster. The power cells were low, but they would do for now. She stepped gingerly forward and bit back a cry of pain. She wasn't sure she could make it to the medical wing or last long enough to help with the lightsaber battle unfolding before them. Han lightly placed his arm around her shoulders, and for once, she was grateful for his care. This wasn't a good to resist any aid he could give her, even if she seemed weak in front of him.

She recognized the entrance to the Jedi Temple as the one they should have used when they came in. The entrance to the South Wing was much less guarded than the entrance to the North Wing where the landing pads for ships were housed. White suits littered the ground every direction she looked, and a few Jedis were thrown unceremoniously into the mix. She mourned them, and without warning, grief and despair took over.

She barely saw the doors to the entrance crash open, or the sudden cease in the battle. All she saw was a shadow creaking in through her Force senses, and she was too weak to fight back against the onslaught. In, out, and around the darkness went as it closed in on her. The Skywalker reception to anger and pain flourished in her, and she had not the will to fight it. She tried, to no avail, to pound on the shield around her, but it was too heavy. The sense of weakness was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, and she felt as if she was being pulled apart in different directions.

"Leia!" someone yelled as she collapsed to the ground. She scarcely felt the cool hands of Han as he caught her, somewhat. Something warm grabbed her into a hug, and that familiar voice whispered to her. Leia could feel the pinpricks of light on her senses as her conscious mind clawed for the tiny dots around her. She moaned as someone put a hand to her forehead and tried to shake off the sensation.

"Luke, you have to save him…" she muttered almost incoherently as she lost her grips on reality. Luke dug into her Force shields, but to his horror, the darkness was too far into grips with her mind. She whimpered underneath him, and then she was silent. Her face was relaxed, but he wasn't fooled by the conflict raging on a maelstrom in her mind. She was no longer fighting, and she was too far gone for him to coax back to their plain of consciousness.

"Leia, no! Who do I save? Leia, don't leave us, please…" Luke whispered as he shook her fiercely. It was too late; she had already gone slack in his arms, and his Force presence was sliding from him. That was when Anakin finally understood.

Author's Notes: The next update will be during my Christmas Break. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving Break, and let me know if I need to clear anything up in this chapter. I have an idea in mind for the last part of this chapter, but don't kill me until you've read further into the story. –Insane Pineapple from Naboo

I'll be doing responses now to the reviewers directly, so replies will be much faster from now on.


	10. Chapter 9: When Worlds Collide

**Important Notice:** This is not a chapter to skim over things. I'm going to try not to lose too many people in explaining the time continuum plot, so hold on as long as possible.

Changing History: When Worlds Collide

From the very beginning of time, the Force had set a plan in motion as a failsafe against the overbalance of power. There could only be two Sith: an Apprentice and a Master. Anger, passion, and fear drove the Sith in their greed for power, and for every generation, the Apprentice would overthrow the Master. Evil had a preordained arrangement of how they would rule, and instead of abiding by the Force's will, they used to it to fit their own purposes. In response, the Force kept in line the rule of two. However, rules could be bent, broken, and destroyed beyond any recognition.

The Jedi were the balance to the power. They would watch over the Sith, to keep their power in line. A Sith wanted power to boost his strength, whereas a Jedi needed power to help others. They were seen as the sides between good evil, but it was much more complex than that. Not all Jedi helped others, and not all Sith destroyed the world them, until the millennium of the Republic, that is.

The Republic gave the people a reason to fight for the power they held. Time after time, the Sith plotted and failed to unseat the Jedi, and their frustrations were duly documented within the Archives. Darth Plagueis the Wise was the most recent of the attempts. The Dark Lord of the Sith tried and failed to engage Master Yoda in a successful battle. Master Yoda was almost surely restrained from winning the battle when Darth Plagueis nicked a leg tendon with his lightsaber, but Master Yoda recovered enough to decapitate the Dark Lord. The Apprentice had never been found, and the event had been documented.

The Apprentice, Darth Sidious, grew to become the Master. He watched and waited as his own Apprentice, Darth Maul, had been slaughtered by the infamous Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kenobi would always be a Jedi, but he found darkness and fear within his young companion. Anakin Skywalker would be his, yes. He congratulated the boy for destroying the Trade Federation, and he adjusted to the change in his plans. The Trade Federation would never be a good ally again, but an Apprentice, young Skywalker could become.

He encouraged, from afar, the relationship of Padmé and Anakin. Anakin's weakness was his love of the former queen, and his anger simmered under the surface at the Jedi Code. They discouraged attachments because attachments led to loss. Loss led to grief, and that was a trait of the Dark Side. The signs of darkness appeared early in Anakin's apprenticeship to Obi-Wan, and Palpatine could do little to mask the darkness from the overbearing Obi-Wan. Instead, Palpatine suggested Anakin add shields to his true feelings. Anakin felt guilty about hiding things from his Master, but anger at the Jedi Order forced him to comply.

The Force was all-knowing, and so Anakin Skywalker's downfall was imminent. There were simply too many Jedi, and corruption spread like wildfire through the folds. Only a few necessities survived the Jedi Purge, Master Yoda and Master Kenobi among them, and again the Force saw potential in the Skywalker line. Leia was too much like her mother to partake in a study of the Force, but young Luke had all the requirements. As he played into the hands of the Force, the Force struck, through Palpatine, to bring about the destruction of the Jedi and Sith. Anakin Skywalker was supposed to be the last, but fate the Force had set in motion stepped in, and the Sith were destroyed before the Jedi. Luke Skywalker became the last.

The Force pondered this new revelation and decided it had been wrong in its motives. The Force was not a balance between good and evil; the Force was simply the Force. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi had been two of the most powerful beings the Force had guided, and the Force had not responded to them in kind. Was it right to have them become one with the Force so early in their lives? Perhaps not. Perhaps they deserved another chance at life, and so the Force looked to Luke and Leia Skywalker.

They were powerful with the Force, both of them, but they were highly untrained. They would start a new order, but did not know of the mistakes of the past. They knew the mistakes of the government, how power in the hands of one would be the ultimate flaw of choice. If they searched deeply enough, they would find remnants of the Jedi Order on the planet of Coruscant. Months passed, and instead of returning to Coruscant, the Jedi siblings trained on the remote planet of Tatooine without any guidance. Mistakes could easily be repeated, and a tragic hero would have to be born again.

A millennium (or was it a few years?) would go by and history would repeat itself once more to correct the balance. The Force was neutral in every way, but it tired of hoping humanity would fix its own mistakes. Instead of changing the present, only to have the past repeat itself once more, the Force decided to change the past. For, if the past were good, the repetition would be good as well.

Anakin Skywalker was the first, and Anakin Skywalker would the last. He would be the precipice upon the past, present, and future. The Force would make sure of it, for the Force believed in completing the balance. Anakin Skywalker was the balance between the control; the balance between the darkness and the light. The Force could not change Anakin's childhood without disrupting the balance, but the Force could change the turning. It could twist it, mold it into something less evil. Instead of fewer attachments, Anakin Skywalker needed more. He needed someone he had no reason not to trust; someone would not use him as a pawn. He needed someone he had not met before.

Simply put, Anakin Skywalker needed his family. Padmé was too untrustworthy with her links Obi-Wan, but his children… Anakin's children had saved him once from himself, and his children would make the perfect combatants against the darkness spreading within him. The children, Luke and Leia, retained all their memories when they went back to the past. They took their light and they brought their darkness with them. They brought knowledge and reasons to change the past as they had known it.

When they strode back to the past, their being there caused a paradox. Every second was changed with every action they put forth, and they did so with the best intentions. As their past was rewritten, they had assumed their memories would be as well. Their memories were not rewritten, and two pasts coincided in the minds of each person who rewrote it. Luke's past was good, better than he had ever wished for. Chewbacca's past and Han's past were effected so slightly that they unconsciously ignored the differences in their minds. However, Leia's past, her tormented dark life tore her mind in two. Essentially, two different people tried to live in the same body.

Leia's mind couldn't handle it. The children had been her breaking point, the fine line between the past she knew and the past she didn't want to know. She had crossed that line, and Luke couldn't save her. Light could defeat the dark, but Luke had too much light in him to penetrate her darkness. She needed someone in the balance, someone who was just as close to the edge as she was. Before she became one with the Force, she reached out for her father, and he understood.

Leia Skywalker became one with the Force, but Anakin would not let her go. He through himself wildly into her Force senses and struggled against the conflict in her mind. His child, his only daughter, was being stripped from him before he had even met her. Leia pulled at him, and he let himself be brought into her mind. He could feel her heart stop as he did his own, and Luke painfully beating on the barriers of the Force. Anakin told his son to trust him and gently pushed Luke out of Leia's mind. He had a daughter to save.

Leia and Anakin both died and slipped into the Force. Unlike other Jedi and Sith, they did not hold onto their own planes of existence. Instead, they let go of their fears and their troubles. They were not enemies, and they were not opposition. They simply were. Anakin tightened his mental grip on his kin, and her exhaustion filtered through his hold. He could feel her slipping away from him, but he held her close. He would fight his way back if he had to. Anakin wanted…no, he needed to save his family from its own demise. Padmé would never forgive him if they were both lost. The Force choked him and pulled at him, and he was unwillingly pulled into her vision.

_

* * *

_

_Leia held the toy lightsaber in her hands and smiled triumphantly at her brother. Luke had landed on his backside once again, and he glared as he rubbed his sore spots. She always managed some trick or another, and no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't work around her wit. His father told him to be mindful of the Force, but he was having trouble connecting to it like she did._

_His play-glare was more than the tiny Leia could stand, and she laughed behind a tiny hand at her brother. His tantrums were always fun to watch, and even more fun to induce in him. His bright, blue sparkled with righteous anger, but it quickly gave way to childhood innocence. Leia's oversized buns atop her head fell loose as the peals of laughter escaped between her fingers. _

_Leia held out a tiny hand to her brother and smiled apologetically. "I won again!" she exclaimed to her mother as Padmé shooed them in for lunch. Anakin wondered why Padmé looked so sad as she watched the children, and he turned to the present Leia before him. She wore a simple gown of white silk, and she was looking thoughtfully at the children in the house. The smaller version of Leia caught up to her sibling with little difficulty. _

"_I was stronger in Force than Luke was when we were younger. In this lifetime, my interest in politics didn't come until much later in my childhood. Luke was much, much more powerful than me in the ways of the Force when I outgrew the toy sabers, and I resented him for it. I never knew where my anger came from until now," Leia answered with a small smile. Her shoulders slumped in resignation, and she looked at Anakin in silence. _

"_Where did it come from?" Anakin asked, already knowing the answer. Only one person could affect the Skywalker family in such a way that they would turn on each other. He was almost afraid to watch as the scene shifted around them to accommodate Leia's new mood. Leia glanced wistfully at the children in the house and caught Padme's knowing gaze. Her mother had always known her better than anyone else. _

_

* * *

_

_At six years old, Leia was left by herself for approximately ten minutes. Ten minutes was the exact amount of time needed for the bounty hunter. Leia bit down as hard as she could on Boba Fett's hands, but her small teeth were not enough to deter the clone. Fett quickly placed a cloth over her nose and mouth to inhale poison, and Leia's eyes instantly rolled into the back of her head. Glancing around, Boba Fett made quick work of the toy lightsaber she held and dragged her into his speeder. She was never seen on Naboo again. _

_The older Leia let a tear drop from her eyes to pool on the ground beneath her. She watched as Luke looked around desperately for his lost sister and cradled the broken toy in his arms. He called for his parents, but Padmé was on a trip to Coruscant with Anakin in tow. Only his grandparents, the peaceful people on the ridge, could hear his cries. Leia joined him in his solemn regrets. _

"_They killed a six-year-old girl? How could Palpatine be so cruel?" Anakin exclaimed in horror. His daughter had been kidnapped by a bounty hunter at such a young age. No wonder her mind was scarred beyond recognition. She whimpered beside him, and he held her close in his arms. He didn't want to see what would come next, but he knew he had to, for her sake. He only hoped some happiness would still be within his daughter. Vengeance was uncontrollable, and it cut deep wounds into the soul. _

"_You were worse," Leia muttered as she stepped away from him. "Before we changed the past the first time, you chose to follow Palpatine. His first order? To kill the Jedi of the Temple, _all _of the Jedi." Leia remembered hearing of how Vader came into being once, and she thought she had blocked the image from her mind. As her worlds collided, however, she couldn't block any the tiniest snippet from her mind. "Besides," she added. "They didn't kill me. Killing me would have been much more merciful than Palpatine would have allowed."_

"_I killed younglings?" Anakin asked breathlessly. His worst nightmares were coming true, and for once, Luke and Obi-Wan weren't the ones pointing out his recklessness. "What do you mean you endured a fate worse than death? What could be worse than losing you to the Force? Oh…" Anakin answered his own question as he felt the world shift around him once more. _

_

* * *

__Leia kneeled before the Sith Master with a cloak over her head. She tensed and tried to relax as Palpatine shot Force lightning at her for her failure. At this rate, she would need bone transplants before she turned twenty. Her fifteen-year-old body shook under the sheer power the electricity held. Hatred bubbled and burst in her at her brother. She had been instructed to kill her brother and force him to turn for her master, but he refused, adamantly. She didn't understand why Luke couldn't see things her way. The Jedi Order had destroyed their family, yet he still believed in their values. The Jedi Order was corrupt and quickly deteriorating before their eyes. _

"_You have failed me for the last time, Apprentice," Palpatine hissed as he forced the power upon her. He knew it hadn't directly been her fault for the failure, but he would never admit the truth to her. He would continue to let her believe the Jedi Order had been the one to throw their father in a prison on one of the rotting outer-rim worlds, instead of Palpatine, and that Anakin had died of a fatal lightsaber wound from Obi-Wan. Palpatine had poisoned her mind with Force-induced lies, and it would always remain that way. _

"_It will not happen again, my Master," Leia whispered before she collapsed before him. He smashed through her shields to erase any lingering doubts of him in her mind. The older Leia seethed next to Anakin as she watched the scene with contempt. He grabbed her shoulder and forced her to look at him. She nearly snapped before him, and he held her up tightly as he glared at Palpatine's dominating form. The darkness of her memory clawed at them, and Anakin pushed the memory as hard as he could out of her mind. The older Leia almost fainted in his arms, but he kept going. _

"_Can you show me anything of your other past?" Anakin whispered gently against her. He didn't need to see anymore of this past to know what happened. Her mind was an open book, and he winced at the duel between the two siblings. Both Luke and Leia had barely been over the age nineteen, and they were desperately fighting for their lives against one another. Leia was strong, but Luke's love of her forced her hand and caused a fatal blow to her abdomen. Anakin pushed that particular memory as far away from her mind and the Force as he possibly could. _

_

* * *

__Bail Organa smiled as he watched his adoptive daughter twirl in the sunlight. Her carefree laughter was something he hadn't seen in anyone since before the Clone Wars. She had Padmé's smile and Anakin's quick temper, but something in her told the story of Leia. She wasn't the Queen of Naboo, and she wasn't a great Jedi Knight in the Clone Wars. Leia was just Leia. She was overly optimistic the war would end soon, and they could be a family not broken apart by opposition. _

"_Father, did you know anything of my mother?" Leia asked with innocent, chocolate brown eyes. She pouted slightly when Bail moved to shake his head 'no.' Bail sighed as he saw the determined look in Leia's eyes and moved to bring out a worn holovid from his sleeve. Leia's eyes lit up in the morning sun, and she ran towards him eagerly. The holovid of Padmé was taken when she was pregnant, right before she gave birth. She looked kind in the holovid, but sad, and her hand rested carefully over her belly. Little Leia hugged Bail, and he shooed her off her for bath. He looked mournfully at her retreating figure before moving towards his shuttle. _

"_You never knew Padmé?" Anakin asked softly, regretfully. Padmé had looked downcast in the holovid, as if something was amiss with her relationship to him. He didn't think he would ever leave her; he loved her too much to break her heart in such a way. Padmé was the one person he could never let go besides his children. Leia just shook her head slowly. _

"_I never really knew you either, except for the fact you tortured me for information. She died before Luke or I could know her, and we were lucky enough to find each other. It took eighteen years for me to meet my brother. Eighteen years! The past is the past now, I suppose, and it is what we are trying to change," Leia said as she crossed her legs. The world of Alderaan winked out, and Coruscant came into view. _

_

* * *

_

_Leia bit her lip as she looked around the Jedi Council chamber. "This isn't one of my memories," she whispered as she watched an execution. Anakin shuddered beside her as he fell to his knees. No, this was not one of her memories. This memory was not something he could push out of her mind at all; in fact, this had not occurred yet in his lifetime. He watched as the Jedi scorned at him unemotionally. They claimed to not hold prejudices, but Anakin was affected by their fury sure enough. _

"_It's one of my futures," Anakin said, as if it explained everything. Which future could this possibly be? Mace Windu looked close to striking him down, and the other Anakin reacted violently. He paraded into the Jedi Council with Obi-Wan on his heels, and the tired-looking Jedi Master tried to hold him during his tirade. Cold fury developed in the pit of his stomach at the looks of the Jedi. _

"_You cannot take my children from me!" Anakin shouted at them as if they would respond in kind. Master Yoda's ears drooped, and the 'real' Anakin looked at him in surprise. Had he voted against the Council on this matter? Surely the other members would have listened to the old Master's words. Even a furious Anakin would listen to Yoda when he spoke, but it was not he who responded to Anakin's demands. _

"_You broke the Jedi Code when you married the Senator of Naboo. You refused to bring her on our request, and now we must take matters into our own hands. They our Force-sensitive, and thus they will be trained as Jedi. Attachments had been the fall of many of our members; you must see this! You yourself nearly fell to the Dark Side, and it was those very children who saved you. You know they had Jedi training," Mace finished as he cut off any of Anakin's complaints. Mace was hardened by the many years of war, and these Force-sensitive children could be the ones to save them all from destruction. _

"_If you try to take them, I will leave this Order, and take my children with me," Anakin threatened, and Yoda's ears dropped further. Mace Windu pushed himself out of his seat to stare Anakin down. His eyes were positively livid for a brief second before he stifled his temper. Anakin, however, could not quell the fury within him. The Force felt the balance tip in the Council chambers. _

"_You would deny them their rightful education?" Mace asked in a deadly calm voice. He was the voice of the Council now. Yoda caught the gaze of Obi-Wan behind the two men, and Obi-Wan nodded briefly. He would stand by wayward Apprentice if extreme measures came into play, so Yoda took matters into his own hands. An overly anxious Skywalker was the last thing they needed. _

"_We will allow for the children to be trained on Naboo by your Master, if you agree to leave this Order," Yoda instructed quietly. His stick tapped the marble floor as he made his way over to Anakin. The Anakin in the vision dropped his head in resolution; he knew he would one day have to give up his position in the Jedi Code to be with his family. He nodded to the Master. _

_The Anakin within Leia's mind gasped. "How are we going to get through this?" he asked in disbelief. Every choice they made in the near-future seemed to be the wrong one. His daughter was condemned to his own fate, and Luke was destined to kill his own sister. He himself would die in a prison Palpatine had built for him after being thrown out of the Jedi Order, and Padmé was stuck in the middle of the huge mess. He missed the widening of Leia's eyes as she was being pulled back from him. _

"_Father! Help…" she whispered as she tried to erect a wall of light around her. Her memories of torture and hell were bombarding her now. Her first kill, the children she massacred on Yavin, and her death at her brother's hands. Vader's torture of her on the Executor, the torture of Han on Hoth, and the Hutt's treatment of her on Tatooine. Too many bad memories were assaulting her, and Anakin gritted his teeth outside the shield. He could no longer see her, but he could feel Leia's attempts to reach him. _

_Anakin pushed aside his own dark past to find the light. "Think of the good!" he shouted as he thought about winning the podrace on Tatooine. He thought about his mother, and how she did everything in her power to make life better for them both. He thought about Padmé, and their wedding under the midday sun. Anakin thought about finding his children, and knowing they made it through the rough future together. He thought about his first kiss with Padmé, and how she had teased him so. _

_Leia thought long and hard about the good in her life. She thought about her brother, and his naiveté on the battle station. She thought about the destruction of the Death Star and how the war had finally come to an end. She thought about Han, and his incessant attempts to drive her nerves sky high. She thought about the ewoks and how they believed Threepio was a god. Most importantly of all, she thought about finding her family again. _

_The darkness shattered around her, and she fell into her father's waiting arms. "It's ok now," he whispered to her as she grasped at his robe. He stroked at her back as she finally cried out the depression within. The light suddenly blinded her, and she welcomed it back into her mind. The future would be alright now; they were still in the past, so they could change it. They didn't need to take the voyage back home so soon; they could stay and get to know their family they never had. _

* * *

The Force twisted and pulled at the two beings in its clutches, but they refused to let each other go. Leia would not fall into the darkness as her father had been destined to, and so the Force would remain unbalanced. The omnipotent energy drifted into a weary state, void of the empty calm Anakin Skywalker had once brought to it. The two souls were now linked together, and the downfall of one would surely cause the downfall of the other, and such an overbalance could not possibly satisfy the Force.

To hold both of the beings at once was already taking too much interference on the side of the Force, so it not-so-gently pushed the two out of its field. The results normally would have been catastrophic, but they relied on each other in a way to make sure of safe arrival back into their own bodies. The Force regained its neutrality as consciousness jolted the younglings back into their realm of reality.

Leia reached out for her brother through their mental link, and Luke gasped as he felt the power behind her desperation. Anakin brought up the rear as Luke 'pulled' Leia back into her own mind. He thought he had lost her forever, the gentle, sweet Leia he had grown to love. Her breathing was erratic at best, and she unknowingly clawed her fingernails into his arm. Luke cried out in surprise and fell on top of his sister. "Leia!" he exclaimed with a half-laugh, half-sob.

Luke hugged her to him with a fistful of shirt in his hands. "Oh, Luke," she whispered into his hair as she let out a few dry sobs. Her tears were dry thanks to her father, and her mental exhaustion kept her from crying another tear more. Han watched in awe as Luke rubbed his beloved's back with soothing gestures. His mind couldn't grasp onto the fact she had died, and he was having a much harder understanding how she had been brought back to him.

"Anakin!" the new older lady said with vigor. Anakin Skywalker hacked and coughed as he tried to sit up next to her. The lady's hair fell over her shoulders in the same way Leia's did when she was worried about something. Leia always got that far-off look in her eyes when the Empire came close to discovering their base, and this lady held her head high much in the same way. He almost believed they were related somehow.

"Are you alright?" Padmé asked Anakin as he held his head in his hands. His temple throbbed under the pressure of the Force, but at least he now knew his daughter was safe. Padmé lightly massaged the sore spots under his guidance, but he needed Force-sensitive medics to help him in his plight. His eyes opened unwillingly against the bright lights in the room, and he slowed the motions of her hands.

"I will be, my love," he whispered in her hair as he slowly backed away from her. He didn't care about the other prying eyes in the room, but she did, and they had to avoid his vision of the future for as long as possible. The Council had never been kind to his family, and he knew they would not understand his love for his wife. "Not here," he whispered shakily to Padmé, and she understood.

"They will know eventually," she answered with her ruby lips pouted in a sigh. She stood and offered him a hand for which he could stand on his own two feet. Anakin's legs were shaky beneath him, but they held, and he found he could walk a short ways. Padmé led him in a friendly way over to Obi-Wan, and the Master didn't even bother to show his disapproval. His wayward Padawan wouldn't respond to it kindly in their situation anyway.

"Who are they?" Padmé asked at Anakin's silence. His lack of response bothered her, but she would set it aside and let it fester for the moment. The twins were holding on to one another as if the entire world was trying to rip them apart at any second. The smuggler looked torn between the twins and the two people studying them. Padmé watched as the twins composed themselves in a somewhat orderly fashion.

"They are our children," Anakin answered, and Leia smiled encouragingly at him. Luke supported Leia as she rose to face her mother. Leia had not seen the woman in front of her for many a year in either of the realities her memories visited. Padme looked younger than she remembered and not as sad either. Her strength in her appearance gave Leia hope for the future, and she believed in her mother with all of heart. The lightheartedness around them would not last for long though.

"Mother…" Leia whispered when worlds collided.

Author's Notes: This one is a little bit shorter than my other chapters simply because I didn't know how much plot I could pack into one chapter. In case many of you have not figured this out yet, Changing History is focused on the Skywalker family and the people around them. I'm sorry that Mace Windu isn't a focus of this story, but he really wasn't that important to the Skywalker family. The only purpose he served in the movies was to cause the last blow towards Anakin's downfall. I invite anyone to convince me differently on this point. I will have Mace Windu in later chapters, but I will not put too much emphasis on him. Ja ne –Insane Pineapple from Naboo


	11. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, but I'll be glad to buy Obi-Wan from George Lucas.

Notes: This is the epilogue because I wasn't satisfied with how I left the story. For further exploration into the alternate reality this story created, see the semi-sequel _Complications._

Changing History: Epilogue

Knowledge of the future is a dangerous set of information, since fate can be twisted and turned on a moment's notice. Anakin Skywalker was as in danger of falling into the grey area of the Dark Side now more than ever before, though he go on to fight his fate until his dying breath. He clutched onto his children, the children who had yet to come into existence.

Right at that moment, as the world crashed around them, Padmé went into labor. The shock of her water breaking prompted Anakin into action. The Jedi Temple was crumbling down, but temples and walls could be rebuilt. Lives could not be reborn, unless of course you were a force time traveler.

Anakin grabbed Padmé and motioned to Luke and Leia. "Come on! We have to get out of here before the building collapses."

Which, of course, spurred the other motionless Jedi into action. The children were led out into the Coruscant sky with Anakin and Obi-Wan in tow, exactly like it should have been.

Leia and Luke stood still though as the fires alighted around them. Mace Windu stopped in the Temple doorway next to Han and Chewie. "What are you waiting for?" he shouted, though nothing could be heard above the roaring of civilization's end.

Luke and Leia just stood there, both already feeling the tug of the Force. They would not be powerful enough to leave the world after their own births as the Force would be split between the four of them.

They smiled sadly, holding hands like the children they never were. They were meant to know happiness as children, and in this alternate reality, they hopefully would. A loud pop in the Force, and the droids were pulled through first. A second later, Han and Chewbaca barely had time to say goodbye before they were pulled through as well.

"What will happen to you?" Windu yelled as Yoda kept a small barrier around the two young Jedi.

"We will cease to exist, but one day, you may get to know us once again," Leia whispered softly. Her voice didn't carry down the hallway, but Mace seemed to understand.

Anakin turned with Padmé in his arms, suddenly realizing his children weren't behind him anymore. "No!" he yelled with frustrated tears rolling down his face. "You can't leave me yet."

Luke smiled ironically. "It's alright Father. Just be there for us this time around. Master Obi-Wan, promise me you'll keep him in line."

"He'll always be a youngling to me," Obi-Wan agreed.

"Good-bye Mother, goodbye Father. I'll forgive you one day; I just need time," Leia stated as she, too, was pulled through.

"May the Force be with you," Luke said simply, and with a small bow, he was gone too.

"And with you, Young Skywalker," Yoda murmured as the building caved in.

"Will there be consequences of their actions," Mace Windu asked as they stepped into night.

"Too many, I fear," Yoda murmured.

The Force hummed in agreement.

The two beings known as Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker ceased to be in the Star Wars universe as we know it.

Hours later, the future Jedi Knight Skywalker and Darth Vulcan were born.

If you wish to see more of this universe, check out _Complications. _I haven't decided if it's going to be a series of one-shots or a complete story yet.

For now, thank you to all of my patient readers and reviewers. You've inspired me to journey on to lands far, far away. May the Force be with you all.


End file.
